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 Tehran.
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 1965 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 at the first Suicide practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Japan 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 Warren Ellis. All the underground hits.
All Joe Smooth tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Brand Nubian record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 harpsichord and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Young Marble Giants record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Alison Limerick,
Half Japanese,
Basic Channel,
Stockholm Monsters,
The Black Dice,
The Smiths,
Lindisfarne,
Lou Reed,
Soul Sonic Force,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
The Angels of Light,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Searchers,
Crispy Ambulance,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Swans,
Ten City,
Drive Like Jehu,
Television,
Panda Bear,
Althea and Donna,
Animal Collective,
Peter and Kerry,
Radiopuhelimet,
Jimmy McGriff,
DJ Sneak,
Motorama,
the Association,
Sarah Menescal,
Hardrive,
Funkadelic,
Patti Smith,
David McCallum,
Arcadia,
Deepchord,
Charles Mingus,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Depeche Mode,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Frankie Knuckles,
The Sound,
Blake Baxter,
Brass Construction,
Negative Approach,
Jeru the Damaja,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Crispian St. Peters,
Marine Girls,
Anakelly,
Colin Newman,
Organ,
Mr. Review,
Dawn Penn,
Girls At Our Best!,
Gang Green,
Eric Copeland,
Public Image Ltd.,
Donny Hathaway,
The Busters,
Jacob Miller,
Grauzone,
Black Flag,
a-ha, a-ha, a-ha, a-ha.
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.