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 Guinea and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1961 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Columbus.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 spring reverb 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 Rites of Spring to the electroclash kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Neil Young & Crazy Horse. All the underground hits.
All Fad Gadget tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Thee Headcoats record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rod Modell record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jeff Lynne,
Chrome,
Sexual Harrassment,
The Blackbyrds,
Stiv Bators,
Joey Negro,
Surgeon,
Accadde A,
The Pop Group,
The Angels of Light,
Drexciya,
New York Dolls,
Avey Tare,
Procol Harum,
Sonic Youth,
Donny Hathaway,
The Wake,
Cal Tjader,
Silicon Teens,
The Smoke,
The Index,
Make Up,
Girls At Our Best!,
These Immortal Souls,
E-Dancer,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Glenn Branca,
John Holt,
The Motions,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
David McCallum,
Eurythmics,
ABC,
Reuben Wilson,
Stereo Dub,
Barrington Levy,
Throbbing Gristle,
Fear,
Rufus Thomas,
the Human League,
the Normal,
Juan Atkins,
Sixth Finger,
Harpers Bizarre,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Wings,
Animal Collective,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Bobby Womack,
Pantaleimon,
Jeff Mills,
Rosa Yemen,
Camberwell Now,
The Leaves,
Black Bananas,
Shuggie Otis,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Delta 5,
The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics, The Sonics.
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.