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 Turkmenistan and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage show in London.
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 1961 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Madrid.
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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Pere Ubu to the crunk kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Hashim. All the underground hits.
All Peter & Gordon tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hoover record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Deakin record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
John Holt,
Charles Mingus,
Underground Resistance,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Blancmange,
Franke,
Easy Going,
The Tremeloes,
Roy Ayers,
Derrick Morgan,
Patti Smith,
Niagra,
Ralphi Rosario,
Wire,
The Real Kids,
The Flesh Eaters,
The Golliwogs,
New York Dolls,
The Skatalites,
Section 25,
Fad Gadget,
Flamin' Groovies,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Pylon,
The Alarm Clocks,
the Association,
Can,
Animal Collective,
Adolescents,
Altered Images,
Zapp,
Juan Atkins,
Erasure,
Boogie Down Productions,
Nation of Ulysses,
The Vogues,
Bobby Womack,
Warren Ellis,
Dawn Penn,
Crooked Eye,
Graham Central Station,
Jerry's Kids,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Quadrant,
Bizarre Inc.,
Fela Kuti,
Minnie Riperton,
Ultra Naté,
The Gories,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Isaac Hayes,
June Days,
Albert Ayler,
Freddie Wadling,
Audionom,
The Dead C,
Barrington Levy,
Sunsets and Hearts,
The Smiths,
Hardrive,
Cal Tjader,
Aloha Tigers, Aloha Tigers, Aloha Tigers, Aloha Tigers.
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.