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 China and from Seoul.
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 1960 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lyon and Jakarta.
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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Arthur Verocai to the rock kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 John Holt. All the underground hits.
All The Zeros tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Gories 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Tears for Fears record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Terry Callier,
The Evens,
Harry Pussy,
The Velvet Underground,
The Barracudas,
Youth Brigade,
Sarah Menescal,
Barclay James Harvest,
Bang On A Can,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Hot Snakes,
K-Klass,
Loose Ends,
Nils Olav,
Crash Course in Science,
Talk Talk,
Bush Tetras,
The Sisters of Mercy,
The United States of America,
Brick,
Ultimate Spinach,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Hashim,
Duran Duran,
The Red Krayola,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Groovy Waters,
Dennis Brown,
Gregory Isaacs,
Kurtis Blow,
Crispy Ambulance,
the Slits,
Sun City Girls,
The Star Department,
Patti Smith,
Outsiders,
Black Pus,
MDC,
The Electric Prunes,
Frankie Knuckles,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Hasil Adkins,
Minor Threat,
The Angels of Light,
Susan Cadogan,
Dave Gahan,
Scratch Acid,
Sällskapet,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Jerry's Kids,
Avey Tare,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Darondo,
Panda Bear,
Angry Samoans,
Infiniti,
Kool Moe Dee,
Buzzcocks,
Quando Quango,
Bauhaus,
Con Funk Shun,
The Last Poets,
Lou Reed,
Swell Maps, Swell Maps, Swell Maps, Swell Maps.
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.