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 Egypt and from Accra.
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 1962 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Stockholm.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 David Bowie to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Liliput. All the underground hits.
All Jacques Brel tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ituana 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Qualms record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Black Bananas,
Reagan Youth,
Jandek,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Chrome,
New Age Steppers,
Pantytec,
The Human League,
Radiohead,
Marcia Griffiths,
Derrick Morgan,
Accadde A,
Deadbeat,
Nils Olav,
Jesper Dahlback,
Sun Ra,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Kinks,
Wasted Youth,
Big Daddy Kane,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Litter,
Skaos,
David Bowie,
The Moleskins,
Tears for Fears,
Soft Machine,
Stetsasonic,
Frankie Knuckles,
Jeff Mills,
Minor Threat,
H. Thieme,
Jimmy McGriff,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Camouflage,
Drexciya,
The Last Poets,
Absolute Body Control,
Supertramp,
New Order,
Lightning Bolt,
Second Layer,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Robert Görl,
Steve Hackett,
Hardrive,
Nik Kershaw,
Drive Like Jehu,
Flamin' Groovies,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Angry Samoans,
The Golliwogs,
Crispy Ambulance,
Eve St. Jones,
Idris Muhammad,
These Immortal Souls,
Scan 7,
Wings,
Robert Hood,
Dawn Penn,
The Motions,
Theoretical Girls,
Goldenarms, Goldenarms, Goldenarms, Goldenarms.
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.