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 Cape Verde and from Milan.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in London.
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 1964 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and Philadelphia.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Clear Light to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Slits. All the underground hits.
All Outsiders tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Procol Harum record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Soul II Soul record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bush Tetras,
Johnny Osbourne,
Barbara Tucker,
Kerrie Biddell,
The Alarm Clocks,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Absolute Body Control,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Graham Central Station,
48th St. Collective,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Roxy Music,
Metal Thangz,
R.M.O.,
The Gladiators,
Tim Buckley,
Mo-Dettes,
Glambeats Corp.,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
the Fania All-Stars,
Index,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Black Flag,
The Modern Lovers,
The Trojans,
The Slackers,
Andrew Hill,
Letta Mbulu,
Average White Band,
Henry Cow,
Sun Ra,
Interpol,
Pere Ubu,
These Immortal Souls,
Laurel Aitken,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Fire Engines,
Radiopuhelimet,
Kerri Chandler,
Delon & Dalcan,
Quando Quango,
Roger Hodgson,
The Skatalites,
Soul II Soul,
Eli Mardock,
The Black Dice,
The Evens,
June of 44,
Amazonics,
In Retrospect,
Mark Hollis,
Mandrill,
UT,
Lightning Bolt,
Peter & Gordon,
T.S.O.L.,
Negative Approach,
Marc Almond,
LL Cool J,
Ituana,
Malaria!, Malaria!, Malaria!, Malaria!.
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.