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 Russia and from Tokyo.
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 1961 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the marimba 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 Agent Orange to the rock kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Scientists. All the underground hits.
All The Blues Magoos tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Faust record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Goldenarms record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Mary Jane Girls,
Reagan Youth,
The Barracudas,
The Offenders,
David Bowie,
A Certain Ratio,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Lou Christie,
Wally Richardson,
Ice-T,
Bush Tetras,
Robert Wyatt,
Television,
8 Eyed Spy,
Erykah Badu,
Man Eating Sloth,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Parry Music,
Pantaleimon,
The Beau Brummels,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Motorama,
Trumans Water,
Donny Hathaway,
Anakelly,
the Normal,
Dawn Penn,
Whodini,
DNA,
Slave,
The Blackbyrds,
The Associates,
R.M.O.,
Sonic Youth,
Livin' Joy,
Colin Newman,
The Toasters,
Surgeon,
China Crisis,
Todd Terry,
The Divine Comedy,
Hoover,
Public Image Ltd.,
Sun Ra,
Easy Going,
Agitation Free,
The Flesh Eaters,
DJ Style,
The Martian,
Tubeway Army,
Moebius,
Lalann,
The Pop Group,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Pantytec,
Pulsallama,
the Slits,
Eli Mardock,
The Residents,
Janne Schatter,
The Standells, The Standells, The Standells, The Standells.
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.