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 Nigeria and from Winnipeg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 Salvador and Copenhagen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Nation of Ulysses to the grunge kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Colin Newman. All the underground hits.
All The Motions tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Dual Sessions record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mark Hollis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Neon Judgement,
Swans,
Easy Going,
Mark Hollis,
David Bowie,
Con Funk Shun,
Patti Smith,
The Index,
The Trojans,
Loose Ends,
the Sonics,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Brothers Johnson,
Cluster,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Kenny Larkin,
New Order,
The Evens,
Absolute Body Control,
Scrapy,
The Last Poets,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Camouflage,
The Searchers,
Make Up,
Japan,
Urselle,
The Misunderstood,
Archie Shepp,
Agent Orange,
Sällskapet,
Graham Central Station,
Yaz,
Thompson Twins,
The Beau Brummels,
Audionom,
Half Japanese,
Sparks,
ABBA,
Organ,
Davy DMX,
Arthur Verocai,
Colin Newman,
Aswad,
cv313,
The Pretty Things,
Agitation Free,
Radio Birdman,
Throbbing Gristle,
Smog,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Yusef Lateef,
The Kinks,
The Human League,
Amon Düül II,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Cecil Taylor,
Albert Ayler,
Carl Craig,
Malaria!,
Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad.
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.