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 Oman and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the arpeggiator 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 Nik Kershaw to the jazz 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 E-Dancer. All the underground hits.
All Sonic Youth tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Moleskins record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Index,
the Sonics,
Buzzcocks,
Cameo,
Archie Shepp,
Grandmaster Flash,
the Germs,
the Human League,
Heaven 17,
Eddi Front,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Lower 48,
Gabor Szabo,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Scion,
Jeru the Damaja,
John Holt,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Roy Ayers,
Cecil Taylor,
World's Most,
Barbara Tucker,
The Standells,
Drexciya,
Agent Orange,
The Saints,
A Certain Ratio,
Judy Mowatt,
The Durutti Column,
Sight & Sound,
Television,
Ponytail,
Bill Wells,
ABC,
Dennis Brown,
Flipper,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Quadrant,
Glambeats Corp.,
Minny Pops,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
X-102,
The Raincoats,
D'Angelo,
Byron Stingily,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Matthew Bourne,
X-Ray Spex,
DNA,
Crispy Ambulance,
Q and Not U,
Cal Tjader,
Sun City Girls,
Henry Cow,
Sonic Youth,
Brass Construction,
MC5,
Section 25,
Marine Girls,
Sparks, Sparks, Sparks, Sparks.
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.