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 Ukraine and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1961 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Milan.
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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Eric B and Rakim to the funk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Cabaret Voltaire. All the underground hits.
All Girls At Our Best! tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Flamin' Groovies record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz 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 guitar and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Cluster record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Radio Birdman,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Angry Samoans,
Alton Ellis,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Easy Going,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
The Human League,
The Smoke,
MC5,
Dorothy Ashby,
Leonard Cohen,
Lalo Schifrin,
Drive Like Jehu,
Ten City,
Moss Icon,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
The Pretty Things,
Nation of Ulysses,
The Birthday Party,
Letta Mbulu,
Minny Pops,
Second Layer,
The Slits,
Ralphi Rosario,
Cecil Taylor,
Aaron Thompson,
Nico,
The Slackers,
Thompson Twins,
Lucky Dragons,
Archie Shepp,
The Skatalites,
Bizarre Inc.,
The Gap Band,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Au Pairs,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Jandek,
the Association,
The Star Department,
Depeche Mode,
Grey Daturas,
David Bowie,
Iggy Pop,
Quantec,
Soft Machine,
Todd Rundgren,
Public Image Ltd.,
Essential Logic,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
The Techniques,
D'Angelo,
The Names,
Sixth Finger,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The Black Dice,
Oneida,
Pharoah Sanders,
The Walker Brothers,
Brass Construction,
Supertramp, Supertramp, Supertramp, Supertramp.
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.