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 East Timor and from Manila.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Milan.
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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 John Holt to the punk 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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All JFA tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Con Funk Shun record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco 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 snare and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rhythim Is Rhythim 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?
Suicide,
The Martian,
The Sound,
The Vogues,
The Evens,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Hardrive,
Matthew Bourne,
Harry Pussy,
Camberwell Now,
Nick Fraelich,
Public Image Ltd.,
Glenn Branca,
Mary Jane Girls,
Moby Grape,
Ultravox,
The Gun Club,
Outsiders,
Aloha Tigers,
Bobby Byrd,
the Germs,
Pulsallama,
Arthur Verocai,
Gregory Isaacs,
In Retrospect,
Sonic Youth,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Eve St. Jones,
The Blackbyrds,
The Invisible,
Average White Band,
Tommy Roe,
Lalann,
Model 500,
Fela Kuti,
Ossler,
Connie Case,
Dawn Penn,
Chris Corsano,
The Fugs,
Yazoo,
Hasil Adkins,
Delon & Dalcan,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Fatback Band,
The Alarm Clocks,
Procol Harum,
B.T. Express,
Mantronix,
Yusef Lateef,
The Sonics,
Joey Negro,
Stetsasonic,
Nils Olav,
The Beau Brummels,
Todd Terry,
Man Eating Sloth,
Eric Copeland,
X-102,
Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station.
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.