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 Iran and from Shanghai.
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 1968 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Glasgow and Glasgow.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Taipei 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 The Black Dice to the rap kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 The Young Rascals. All the underground hits.
All Sunsets and Hearts tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Quando Quango record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Babytalk record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Skatalites,
The Selecter,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Swans,
Fugazi,
Crispian St. Peters,
The Misunderstood,
X-102,
The Star Department,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Zapp,
Liliput,
The Motions,
The Pop Group,
The Durutti Column,
Agitation Free,
Q and Not U,
Gang of Four,
Amon Düül II,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Q65,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
The Smoke,
Aswad,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Gang Starr,
Moby Grape,
Whodini,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Tres Demented,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Essential Logic,
The Techniques,
The Zeros,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Ossler,
Mr. Review,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Avey Tare,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Cluster,
Neil Young,
David Bowie,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Toni Rubio,
Man Parrish,
Groovy Waters,
Barry Ungar,
World's Most,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Althea and Donna,
Babytalk,
Chris Corsano,
Alison Limerick,
The Shadows of Knight,
Gong,
The Doobie Brothers,
Jacob Miller,
MDC,
Eli Mardock,
John Cale, John Cale, John Cale, John Cale.
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.