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 St Lucia and from Sao Paulo.
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 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Tehran and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Portland 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the rhodes sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Lalo Schifrin to the funk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Bang On A Can. All the underground hits.
All Soft Cell tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kurtis Blow record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Unrelated Segments record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator 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 Skatalites,
Cymande,
Aaron Thompson,
Joy Division,
Pole,
The Remains,
the Fania All-Stars,
Spoonie Gee,
Iggy Pop,
Jacques Brel,
Matthew Halsall,
One Last Wish,
The Gun Club,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
The Gap Band,
Alton Ellis,
The Residents,
Crispian St. Peters,
the Slits,
The J.B.'s,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Eric B and Rakim,
Colin Newman,
Sister Nancy,
Moby Grape,
Sandy B,
Juan Atkins,
Qualms,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
The Barracudas,
Boredoms,
Mandrill,
Trumans Water,
LL Cool J,
EPMD,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Brothers Johnson,
Flash Fearless,
The Walker Brothers,
X-Ray Spex,
Prince Buster,
Notorious Big And Bone Thugs,
Josef K,
Alphaville,
Boogie Down Productions,
Cybotron,
Ohio Players,
Kayak,
Soul II Soul,
Johnny Osbourne,
The Selecter,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
The Star Department,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Japan,
Eyeless In Gaza,
New Age Steppers,
Arab on Radar,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Bill Near,
Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu, Pere Ubu.
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.