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 Equatorial Guinea and from Accra.
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 1967 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 Zapp practice in a loft in Hamilton.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Dead C 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 Ten City. All the underground hits.
All The Birthday Party tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Larry & the Blue Notes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge 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 a chamberlin and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a De La Soul & Jungle Brothers record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Marshall Jefferson,
Godley & Creme,
The Wake,
The Divine Comedy,
Gang Starr,
Dead Boys,
Kenny Larkin,
Ultra Naté,
Rod Modell,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
China Crisis,
La Düsseldorf,
Patti Smith,
Crime,
Graham Central Station,
Wings,
Piero Umiliani,
Aloha Tigers,
Animal Collective,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Scrapy,
Glambeats Corp.,
Eurythmics,
The Busters,
Fat Boys,
the Sonics,
Lucky Dragons,
Panda Bear,
Hardrive,
8 Eyed Spy,
Lindisfarne,
Barry Ungar,
Adolescents,
the Human League,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Ohio Players,
Nick Fraelich,
Siglo XX,
a-ha,
Sound Behaviour,
The Golliwogs,
The Slits,
Nils Olav,
Jawbox,
The Walker Brothers,
Mandrill,
Buzzcocks,
Morten Harket,
Chris & Cosey,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Velvet Underground,
John Lydon,
The Dave Clark Five,
Carl Craig,
Spandau Ballet,
Organ,
Spoonie Gee, Spoonie Gee, Spoonie Gee, Spoonie Gee.
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.