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 Papua New Guinea and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1960 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Portland and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Harmonia to the rap kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Fania All-Stars. All the underground hits.
All Ludus tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every ABBA 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a snare and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Byron Stingily record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pagans,
Donny Hathaway,
Radiohead,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
John Lydon,
Kool Moe Dee,
cv313,
Barry Ungar,
The Young Rascals,
Curtis Mayfield,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Leonard Cohen,
Janne Schatter,
The Moody Blues,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Glenn Branca,
L. Decosne,
Electric Prunes,
David Axelrod,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Lyres,
Country Teasers,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Big Daddy Kane,
Banda Bassotti,
Soft Machine,
Livin' Joy,
Dennis Brown,
Los Fastidios,
Johnny Clarke,
Tomorrow,
Zero Boys,
Flamin' Groovies,
Freddie Wadling,
Gang Gang Dance,
Symarip,
Sister Nancy,
Grauzone,
Little Man,
Neu!,
The J.B.'s,
Reagan Youth,
The Raincoats,
JFA,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Lightning Bolt,
Wolf Eyes,
Index,
Duran Duran,
Connie Case,
Soul II Soul,
Peter and Kerry,
Con Funk Shun,
Letta Mbulu,
Pharoah Sanders,
Anthony Braxton,
the Germs,
Yusef Lateef,
The Detroit Cobras, The Detroit Cobras, The Detroit Cobras, The Detroit Cobras.
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.