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 Venezuela and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Lewis show in Vancouver.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Barclay James Harvest 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 The J.B.'s. All the underground hits.
All Flipper tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Gladiators 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Smoke record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Rapeman,
Ornette Coleman,
Rakim,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Roxette,
The Slits,
The Smiths,
The Techniques,
Camouflage,
the Fania All-Stars,
Panda Bear,
Stockholm Monsters,
Jeff Lynne,
Matthew Bourne,
Frankie Knuckles,
Interpol,
The Leaves,
Derrick May,
Marvin Gaye,
Rotary Connection,
Josef K,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Maurizio,
Aswad,
Dead Boys,
Loose Ends,
The New Christs,
Big Daddy Kane,
The Move,
The Smoke,
Gang Starr,
Wally Richardson,
OOIOO,
Fad Gadget,
Amon Düül,
Joe Finger,
Easy Going,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Simply Red,
Kurtis Blow,
The Seeds,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
The Raincoats,
Eurythmics,
Anthony Braxton,
Nick Fraelich,
One Last Wish,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Lalann,
Lindisfarne,
The Birthday Party,
The Wake,
Blake Baxter,
Rekid,
10cc,
Pet Shop Boys,
Cheater Slicks,
Girls At Our Best!,
Metal Thangz,
Urselle,
Mission of Burma,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster.
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.