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 Israel and from Beijing.
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 1963 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Accra.
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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Names to the punk kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Surgeon. All the underground hits.
All Strawberry Alarm Clock tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lindisfarne 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 harpsichord and an oboe and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ronan record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Durutti Column,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Eve St. Jones,
Talk Talk,
Ituana,
Pierre Henry,
Country Joe & The Fish,
The Flesh Eaters,
The Divine Comedy,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
The Remains,
Sister Nancy,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Motorama,
Bobby Byrd,
Alton Ellis,
Eric B and Rakim,
Bobby Womack,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
the Germs,
Stereo Dub,
Bobby Hutcherson,
The Black Dice,
Terrestrial Tones,
Royal Trux,
Gang Green,
Cheater Slicks,
Inner City,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Altered Images,
Harmonia,
The Misunderstood,
Black Bananas,
The Detroit Cobras,
Deakin,
Cal Tjader,
The Dead C,
Lou Reed,
Whodini,
Sun City Girls,
Mark Hollis,
Minny Pops,
Moebius,
Barry Ungar,
Accadde A,
Derrick May,
Howard Jones,
Ten City,
R.M.O.,
The Residents,
Arab on Radar,
The United States of America,
Brass Construction,
Jawbox,
Young Marble Giants,
Visage,
Rakim,
Tom Boy,
Quando Quango,
Nirvana,
Flipper,
Harpers Bizarre,
Delon & Dalcan, Delon & Dalcan, Delon & Dalcan, Delon & Dalcan.
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.