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 Panama 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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Philadelphia.
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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Japan to the techno 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 Johnny Osbourne. All the underground hits.
All Gregory Isaacs tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Livin' Joy record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 spring reverb and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Graham Central Station record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb 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 Dead C,
the Human League,
Aloha Tigers,
Audionom,
Stereo Dub,
10cc,
Zapp,
Bluetip,
The Gun Club,
The Divine Comedy,
The Modern Lovers,
The Dirtbombs,
Big Daddy Kane,
Das Ding,
kango's stein massive,
Radio Birdman,
The Wake,
Neil Young,
The Leaves,
Excepter,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Wally Richardson,
The Slits,
Royal Trux,
Juan Atkins,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Half Japanese,
Deadbeat,
Eric Dolphy,
Average White Band,
Japan,
Lakeside,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Max Romeo,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Second Layer,
Bizarre Inc.,
Cymande,
Dead Boys,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
CMW,
Robert Görl,
Tropical Tobacco,
Vainqueur,
The Trojans,
Radiohead,
the Sonics,
Marine Girls,
June of 44,
Joe Finger,
T.S.O.L.,
Kerri Chandler,
Funky Four + One,
Barbara Tucker,
Scan 7,
Heaven 17,
Gang Starr,
Gabor Szabo,
Dawn Penn,
Pulsallama,
Amon Düül,
Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye.
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.