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 Equatorial Guinea and from Madrid.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1969 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Lee Hazlewood to the electroclash 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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All Vaughan Mason & Crew tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every June of 44 record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Beau Brummels record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Nation of Ulysses,
H. Thieme,
Newcleus,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Piero Umiliani,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Model 500,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Flash Fearless,
The Sound,
Von Mondo,
PIL,
Japan,
Peter and Kerry,
The Vogues,
The Leaves,
Ponytail,
Spandau Ballet,
Tubeway Army,
June of 44,
Oblivians,
Rites of Spring,
the Germs,
Max Romeo,
Magazine,
Minor Threat,
Dave Gahan,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Joensuu 1685,
Joe Finger,
The Searchers,
Infiniti,
Minny Pops,
Vladislav Delay,
The Neon Judgement,
Rapeman,
China Crisis,
Theoretical Girls,
Marine Girls,
The Divine Comedy,
Chris Corsano,
Public Enemy,
Adolescents,
This Heat,
Alison Limerick,
Terrestrial Tones,
The Doobie Brothers,
Excepter,
Bizarre Inc.,
The Modern Lovers,
Essential Logic,
The Mojo Men,
The Fall,
The Misunderstood,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Jeff Mills,
The Walker Brothers,
Grauzone,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
The Smoke,
Soul II Soul,
Deakin,
The Red Krayola, The Red Krayola, The Red Krayola, The Red Krayola.
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.