Infinitely Losing My Edge
Yeah, I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
The kids are coming up from behind.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids from Kiribati and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Buzzcocks show in Bolton.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks.
I'm losing my edge to the internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1966 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra kids in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
I can hear the footsteps every night on the decks.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine started up his first band.
I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime."
I was there.
I was the first guy playing Black Pus to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.
I'm losing my edge.
I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody.
Every great song by Joy Division. All the underground hits.
All Sarah Menescal tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Howard Jones record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Tremeloes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Radiohead,
Second Layer,
Gong,
Television,
June of 44,
Minor Threat,
Pere Ubu,
The Cure,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
B.T. Express,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Bobby Womack,
Bill Wells,
Cecil Taylor,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Raincoats,
Scan 7,
The Gladiators,
Traffic Nightmare,
Essential Logic,
The Mojo Men,
T. Rex,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
8 Eyed Spy,
Bootsy Collins,
Lakeside,
The Electric Prunes,
Wally Richardson,
H. Thieme,
Sarah Menescal,
Sister Nancy,
Eurythmics,
Babytalk,
Nick Fraelich,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Alarm Clocks,
Severed Heads,
Faust,
Hot Snakes,
The Young Rascals,
Dead Boys,
Porter Ricks,
Swans,
Minnie Riperton,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Kevin Saunderson,
Thee Headcoats,
The Motions,
Carl Craig,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Birthday Party,
Radio Birdman,
Fat Boys,
Negative Approach,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Juan Atkins,
Howard Jones,
Blancmange,
Motorama,
Half Japanese,
Shuggie Otis,
Oblivians,
Cheater Slicks, Cheater Slicks, Cheater Slicks, Cheater Slicks.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.