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 Bangladesh and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in London.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Bologna.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Taipei 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Alarm Clocks to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Icehouse. All the underground hits.
All OOIOO tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Jandek 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a chamberlin and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Walker Brothers record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin 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 Dave Clark Five,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Basic Channel,
Ossler,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Sun Ra,
Kevin Saunderson,
Amon Düül II,
Pagans,
The Smoke,
The Fugs,
Ituana,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Trumans Water,
Josef K,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Rotary Connection,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Ken Boothe,
The Count Five,
Au Pairs,
Flipper,
Minor Threat,
The Standells,
Roy Ayers,
Piero Umiliani,
Robert Wyatt,
Half Japanese,
John Holt,
Neil Young,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Ultimate Spinach,
Minny Pops,
Chris Corsano,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Laurel Aitken,
Deakin,
Metal Thangz,
Pharoah Sanders,
Archie Shepp,
Zapp,
Byron Stingily,
Unwound,
Pierre Henry,
Jawbox,
DJ Style,
K-Klass,
Lalann,
Ultravox,
Tears for Fears,
Marvin Gaye,
Beasts of Bourbon,
The Invisible,
The Flesh Eaters,
Livin' Joy,
Masters at Work,
Sarah Menescal,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Absolute Body Control,
Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield, Curtis Mayfield.
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.