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 Liberia and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Paris.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1968 at the first Bowie practice in a loft in Bromley.
I was working on the harpsichord 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 the Soft Cell to the rap kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Five Americans. All the underground hits.
All Mark Hollis tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mary Jane Girls record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Brand Nubian record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
KRS-One,
Television Personalities,
Youth Brigade,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Neon Judgement,
Metal Thangz,
The Move,
Pere Ubu,
Bobby Womack,
Amon Düül II,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Sonic Youth,
The Cure,
Slick Rick,
Albert Ayler,
Barclay James Harvest,
Subhumans,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Pulsallama,
The Victims,
Technova,
Clear Light,
The Star Department,
Drexciya,
The Leaves,
Schoolly D,
Terrestrial Tones,
Average White Band,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Robert Wyatt,
Reagan Youth,
Radiohead,
Anthony Braxton,
Funky Four + One,
Basic Channel,
Neil Young,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Byron Stingily,
The Blues Magoos,
Scion,
New York Dolls,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
LL Cool J,
Tomorrow,
The Grass Roots,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Ultravox,
Scott Walker,
Throbbing Gristle,
The Count Five,
Pussy Galore,
Magma,
Motorama,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Camouflage,
Freddie Wadling,
The Busters,
Niagra,
Absolute Body Control,
Desert Stars, Desert Stars, Desert Stars, Desert Stars.
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.