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 Nepal and from Hong Kong.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Monochrome Set to the punk 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 Gian Franco Pienzio. All the underground hits.
All Rites of Spring tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Grauzone record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bronski Beat record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
FM Einheit,
Kurtis Blow,
Laurel Aitken,
Minnie Riperton,
Joey Negro,
Eric B and Rakim,
Junior Murvin,
The New Christs,
Rufus Thomas,
The Busters,
Pulsallama,
Siglo XX,
The Fuzztones,
Drexciya,
the Normal,
Mars,
Gregory Isaacs,
Intrusion,
the Fania All-Stars,
Circle Jerks,
Scrapy,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
PIL,
DJ Style,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Remains,
Metal Thangz,
Alphaville,
Aaron Thompson,
The Pop Group,
Guru Guru,
Derrick May,
The Searchers,
The United States of America,
The Beau Brummels,
The Walker Brothers,
Roger Hodgson,
Mad Mike,
cv313,
Tears for Fears,
Model 500,
Deadbeat,
JFA,
Pierre Henry,
The Blues Magoos,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Skriet,
Flipper,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Seeds,
The Alarm Clocks,
Theoretical Girls,
Nik Kershaw,
Wasted Youth,
Mandrill,
Heaven 17,
The Fortunes,
Rotary Connection,
Arthur Verocai,
The Knickerbockers,
Drive Like Jehu,
Camberwell Now,
Soulsonic Force,
Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel, Basic Channel.
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.