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 Suriname and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1965 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Leonard Cohen to the rap kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Prince Buster. All the underground hits.
All Don Cherry tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Von Mondo record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Oblivians record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
A Flock of Seagulls,
Agent Orange,
Interpol,
The Monochrome Set,
Rapeman,
Donald Byrd,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Deakin,
Howard Jones,
Depeche Mode,
Duran Duran,
Gabor Szabo,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Bluetip,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Bronski Beat,
One Last Wish,
Gang Green,
Jawbox,
Electric Prunes,
Amazonics,
Jacques Brel,
Grandmaster Flash,
T.S.O.L.,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Human League,
Buzzcocks,
Newcleus,
The Offenders,
Smog,
The Moleskins,
Oneida,
Barrington Levy,
The Skatalites,
Supertramp,
Curtis Mayfield,
Goldenarms,
Young Marble Giants,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Eric Dolphy,
D'Angelo,
Jeru the Damaja,
Scrapy,
ABC,
Kaleidoscope,
Qualms,
Vladislav Delay,
Jeff Mills,
Andrew Hill,
The Stooges,
Hashim,
Bobby Hutcherson,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Ultra Naté,
Fifty Foot Hose,
KRS-One,
Saccharine Trust,
Ponytail,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Mars,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Rekid, Rekid, Rekid, Rekid.
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.