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 South Sudan and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Bowie show in Bromley.
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 1967 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Crime to the disco kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Skatalites. All the underground hits.
All The Cosmic Jokers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hot Snakes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jandek record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Sonics,
John Lydon,
The Five Americans,
the Germs,
Goldenarms,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Modern Lovers,
Ralphi Rosario,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
the Bar-Kays,
The Young Rascals,
Mantronix,
Organ,
Rites of Spring,
Gang of Four,
Althea and Donna,
Pylon,
Pulsallama,
Tres Demented,
Jeff Lynne,
Rakim,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
the Normal,
Accadde A,
Tommy Roe,
Half Japanese,
Nation of Ulysses,
Outsiders,
The Associates,
Buzzcocks,
Scott Walker,
The Kinks,
The Angels of Light,
Big Daddy Kane,
Technova,
Agent Orange,
Minutemen,
The Leaves,
Kaleidoscope,
Shoche,
Boredoms,
Johnny Osbourne,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Los Fastidios,
Crime,
Visage,
Eve St. Jones,
Underground Resistance,
Ice-T,
The Gories,
ABBA,
The Offenders,
Duran Duran,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Warsaw,
The Dave Clark Five,
Jesper Dahlback,
Aaron Thompson,
Rekid,
The Move,
The Neon Judgement,
Cameo,
Hashim,
Roxy Music,
Josef K, Josef K, Josef K, Josef K.
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.