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 Bolivia and from Salvador.
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 1961 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Gregory Isaacs to the grunge kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Modern Lovers. All the underground hits.
All MC5 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Leaves record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Camouflage record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Boz Scaggs,
Robert Görl,
Fluxion,
Kerrie Biddell,
Cymande,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Yaz,
Delon & Dalcan,
Blossom Toes,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Mission of Burma,
The Flesh Eaters,
Gregory Isaacs,
H. Thieme,
Heaven 17,
Amazonics,
The Gun Club,
Half Japanese,
Pulsallama,
Cal Tjader,
Country Teasers,
Tommy Roe,
Kaleidoscope,
Barrington Levy,
Arab on Radar,
Ronnie Foster,
Brand Nubian,
Royal Trux,
Faraquet,
John Holt,
Dual Sessions,
Susan Cadogan,
Theoretical Girls,
Cheater Slicks,
Second Layer,
Alphaville,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Juan Atkins,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Symarip,
Bronski Beat,
Bizarre Inc.,
Howard Jones,
Unwound,
Stetsasonic,
Moebius,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
The Sonics,
the Association,
The Trojans,
In Retrospect,
Trumans Water,
the Slits,
Soul II Soul,
Kerri Chandler,
The Cramps,
Morten Harket,
Traffic Nightmare,
Spandau Ballet,
Icehouse,
Loose Ends,
Letta Mbulu,
Jandek, Jandek, Jandek, Jandek.
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.