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 South Sudan and from Hong Kong.
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 Taipei and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Crispy Ambulance to the disco 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 Zapp. All the underground hits.
All Arab on Radar tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Judy Mowatt,
U.S. Maple,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Black Pus,
Roxy Music,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
The Happenings,
Throbbing Gristle,
Deakin,
Maurizio,
The Count Five,
Dawn Penn,
48th St. Collective,
X-101,
Monolake,
Arcadia,
the Soft Cell,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
The Residents,
The Gories,
Dennis Brown,
The Busters,
Joe Finger,
Scan 7,
Roger Hodgson,
Ornette Coleman,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Supertramp,
Traffic Nightmare,
Frankie Knuckles,
Tres Demented,
Lucky Dragons,
Davy DMX,
The Music Machine,
The Litter,
Gil Scott Heron,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Marcia Griffiths,
Barrington Levy,
Harpers Bizarre,
The Motions,
Yazoo,
Drexciya,
Lightning Bolt,
Blancmange,
Jeff Lynne,
Pulsallama,
Kas Product,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Can,
Piero Umiliani,
Harmonia,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Gang Gang Dance,
Peter and Kerry,
Cameo,
China Crisis,
PIL,
Second Layer, Second Layer, Second Layer, Second Layer.
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.