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 Papua New Guinea and from Columbus.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Salvador 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the guitar 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 Buzzcocks to the crunk 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 The Mighty Diamonds. All the underground hits.
All Spoonie Gee tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Chris Corsano record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Desert Stars record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Alarm Clocks,
Faraquet,
Absolute Body Control,
Von Mondo,
Zero Boys,
Audionom,
Marcia Griffiths,
Kenny Larkin,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Young Rascals,
Flipper,
Excepter,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Lightning Bolt,
Susan Cadogan,
Mark Hollis,
Scientists,
The Music Machine,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Spandau Ballet,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Bronski Beat,
Pere Ubu,
Junior Murvin,
Oneida,
Cecil Taylor,
Basic Channel,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Roger Hodgson,
Lebanon Hanover,
the Human League,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Gichy Dan,
Kerri Chandler,
48th St. Collective,
Lee Hazlewood,
Ten City,
Lalann,
Ken Boothe,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
EPMD,
Silicon Teens,
The Martian,
Erasure,
Qualms,
Gang of Four,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Sixth Finger,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Massinfluence,
Blossom Toes,
Gerry Rafferty,
Lindisfarne,
Minny Pops,
Eve St. Jones,
Fela Kuti,
Harpers Bizarre,
Blancmange, Blancmange, Blancmange, Blancmange.
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.