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 Lesotho and from Winnipeg.
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 1963 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Winnipeg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Winnipeg 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 mellotron 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 Terry Callier to the crunk 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 Saints. All the underground hits.
All Q and Not U tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Little Man record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime 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 marimba and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Stiv Bators record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Scientists,
Warren Ellis,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Rekid,
John Cale,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Tommy Roe,
E-Dancer,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Leonard Cohen,
Thee Headcoats,
Roy Ayers,
the Human League,
Piero Umiliani,
Infiniti,
Basic Channel,
Franke,
The Move,
L. Decosne,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Angels of Light,
The Doors,
Bill Near,
Main Source,
Scan 7,
The Wake,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Procol Harum,
The Cowsills,
The Gories,
The Trojans,
Sister Nancy,
Wasted Youth,
Godley & Creme,
Young Marble Giants,
Peter & Gordon,
Todd Rundgren,
Janne Schatter,
Hoover,
Negative Approach,
The Remains,
Slave,
Flamin' Groovies,
KRS-One,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Bronski Beat,
Lalann,
Drive Like Jehu,
Aloha Tigers,
Ornette Coleman,
Cymande,
Skarface,
Danielle Patucci,
The New Christs,
Don Cherry,
Tropical Tobacco,
Kerri Chandler,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Names,
Duran Duran,
Eric B and Rakim,
Scrapy,
Johnny Osbourne, Johnny Osbourne, Johnny Osbourne, Johnny Osbourne.
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.