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 Uganda and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1964 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Woodstock.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 1976 at the first Wire practice in a loft in Watford.
I was working on the mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Barrington Levy to the rap kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Eric Dolphy. All the underground hits.
All James White and The Blacks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Second Layer 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 clarinet and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a A Flock of Seagulls record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Maleditus Sound,
The Durutti Column,
The Trojans,
Soulsonic Force,
Basic Channel,
Marine Girls,
Robert Görl,
Alton Ellis,
Wally Richardson,
Quantec,
MDC,
John Coltrane,
The Flesh Eaters,
Tomorrow,
Deakin,
R.M.O.,
Pylon,
The Red Krayola,
Howard Jones,
Big Daddy Kane,
Unrelated Segments,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Man Parrish,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
UT,
Audionom,
The Fortunes,
The Golliwogs,
A Certain Ratio,
Symarip,
Kayak,
Man Eating Sloth,
Ralphi Rosario,
Sparks,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Television,
Adolescents,
The Mojo Men,
The Fire Engines,
Isaac Hayes,
Brand Nubian,
Danielle Patucci,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Franke,
D'Angelo,
The Gun Club,
Anthony Braxton,
Lebanon Hanover,
Glenn Branca,
Shuggie Otis,
Livin' Joy,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Human League,
Drexciya,
Wings,
Nico,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Electric Prunes,
Accadde A,
Piero Umiliani,
Scrapy, Scrapy, Scrapy, Scrapy.
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.