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 Guinea-Bissau and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1962 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx to the disco kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 These Immortal Souls. All the underground hits.
All Pantaleimon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Red Lorry Yellow Lorry record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Motions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Anthony Braxton,
Marmalade,
Girls At Our Best!,
Bill Wells,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Todd Rundgren,
The Blackbyrds,
a-ha,
Amon Düül II,
Newcleus,
Alphaville,
The Evens,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Rites of Spring,
The Mummies,
Inner City,
Stetsasonic,
Idris Muhammad,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Robert Görl,
Mars,
Wasted Youth,
Scan 7,
Malaria!,
Absolute Body Control,
The Detroit Cobras,
Silicon Teens,
Echospace,
Chris Corsano,
The Standells,
Lou Reed,
Sandy B,
The Gun Club,
Procol Harum,
Oneida,
Television,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Roy Ayers,
Leonard Cohen,
Susan Cadogan,
John Cale,
the Normal,
Niagra,
David Bowie,
The New Christs,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Whodini,
Kurtis Blow,
Animal Collective,
Electric Prunes,
Trumans Water,
EPMD,
Eden Ahbez,
Magma,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Guru Guru,
The Slackers,
Simply Red,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Last Poets,
Gang of Four,
Babytalk, Babytalk, Babytalk, Babytalk.
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.