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 Mali and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Sao Paulo 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 mellotron 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 Swans to the crunk 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 Index. All the underground hits.
All Kevin Saunderson tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Agent Orange 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Terrestrial Tones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Osbourne,
Alton Ellis,
Japan,
Flipper,
the Human League,
Mark Hollis,
Ken Boothe,
The Beau Brummels,
Wally Richardson,
Jandek,
Underground Resistance,
Maurizio,
Quantec,
Ituana,
The Techniques,
X-102,
DJ Sneak,
Byron Stingily,
The Tremeloes,
Sparks,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Nation of Ulysses,
Marshall Jefferson,
The United States of America,
Grandmaster Flash,
The Offenders,
Black Moon,
Rosa Yemen,
The Blackbyrds,
48th St. Collective,
Circle Jerks,
Excepter,
The Grass Roots,
OOIOO,
Gang Starr,
The Martian,
Moby Grape,
Babytalk,
Icehouse,
Idris Muhammad,
The Blues Magoos,
The Star Department,
Jerry's Kids,
Outsiders,
The Knickerbockers,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Inner City,
Arab on Radar,
The Neon Judgement,
Sarah Menescal,
The Move,
Easy Going,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Scan 7,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Charles Mingus,
Susan Cadogan,
Lou Christie,
Hashim,
Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy, Sister Nancy.
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.