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 Denmark and from Sao Paulo.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Barclay James Harvest to the jazz kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Patti Smith. All the underground hits.
All The Martian tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bootsy Collins record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Liliput record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Motorama,
Graham Central Station,
Sam Rivers,
Neil Young,
Country Teasers,
Monolake,
Excepter,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Henry Cow,
Lebanon Hanover,
T. Rex,
The Moody Blues,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Jawbox,
Cecil Taylor,
Amon Düül,
Mark Hollis,
the Sonics,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Alice Coltrane,
Soft Cell,
Ronan,
Chris & Cosey,
CMW,
Bizarre Inc.,
Bronski Beat,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
David McCallum,
Oblivians,
The Busters,
The United States of America,
Bill Near,
Flamin' Groovies,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Sonny Sharrock,
Derrick Morgan,
Brass Construction,
Maleditus Sound,
Vladislav Delay,
Scratch Acid,
Y Pants,
kango's stein massive,
The Martian,
Lakeside,
Black Bananas,
K-Klass,
This Heat,
Harry Pussy,
The Real Kids,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
X-102,
Adolescents,
Wings,
Intrusion,
Sun Ra,
Man Parrish,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Aural Exciters,
Marcia Griffiths,
Donny Hathaway,
Aswad,
Essential Logic, Essential Logic, Essential Logic, Essential Logic.
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.