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 Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Josef K show in Edinburgh.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Mantronix to the techno kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Selector Dub Narcotic. All the underground hits.
All The Gap Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Dual Sessions record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno 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 a marimba and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Busters record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Trojans,
Clear Light,
Bad Manners,
A Certain Ratio,
the Slits,
Skaos,
The Pop Group,
Minnie Riperton,
Robert Wyatt,
Adolescents,
Ralphi Rosario,
U.S. Maple,
The Modern Lovers,
X-Ray Spex,
John Holt,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
The Tremeloes,
Rhythm & Sound,
Magma,
The Golliwogs,
Tres Demented,
Joey Negro,
Cluster,
Dual Sessions,
The Dave Clark Five,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Sight & Sound,
Boz Scaggs,
Iggy Pop,
the Sonics,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Arab on Radar,
Jawbox,
Organ,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Yusef Lateef,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Blues Magoos,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Harmonia,
Cybotron,
The United States of America,
Girls At Our Best!,
Aaron Thompson,
Steve Hackett,
Joy Division,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Rod Modell,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Ken Boothe,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Kaleidoscope,
Monolake,
Jacques Brel,
The Sound,
the Normal,
Guru Guru,
Eli Mardock,
Lightning Bolt,
Subhumans,
Black Sheep, Black Sheep, Black Sheep, Black Sheep.
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.