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 Gambia and from Beijing.
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 1966 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the theremin 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 Lou Reed to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Bang on a Can All-Stars. All the underground hits.
All Andrew Hill tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Knickerbockers record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Steve Hackett record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Public Enemy,
The Victims,
Sun City Girls,
Simply Red,
Au Pairs,
The Seeds,
8 Eyed Spy,
Young Marble Giants,
Roger Hodgson,
The Dave Clark Five,
Talk Talk,
Deepchord,
Kerrie Biddell,
Juan Atkins,
Can,
Japan,
Colin Newman,
The Associates,
Bobby Sherman,
Loose Ends,
Sarah Menescal,
Bluetip,
The Gap Band,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Hoover,
Tom Boy,
Alton Ellis,
Index,
Wasted Youth,
Letta Mbulu,
DJ Sneak,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Motions,
Kevin Saunderson,
DNA,
Andrew Hill,
The Fugs,
Goldenarms,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The Blackbyrds,
E-Dancer,
Sällskapet,
Agent Orange,
Al Stewart,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
New Age Steppers,
Archie Shepp,
Roy Ayers,
Agitation Free,
Black Moon,
Angry Samoans,
Terry Callier,
Davy DMX,
Slick Rick,
New Order,
Suburban Knight,
Toni Rubio,
Albert Ayler,
Shuggie Otis,
The Monochrome Set,
Minny Pops,
Barclay James Harvest,
Q65, Q65, Q65, Q65.
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.