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 Nigeria and from Taipei.
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 1968 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lyon and Salvador.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the organ 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 Faust to the grime 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 Offenders. All the underground hits.
All Brothers Johnson tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cecil Taylor 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Nick Fraelich record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Colin Newman,
Black Bananas,
Circle Jerks,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Make Up,
Amazonics,
The Selecter,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Silicon Teens,
Scientists,
Fugazi,
Bob Dylan,
Siglo XX,
Royal Trux,
Sandy B,
The Neon Judgement,
Audionom,
Michelle Simonal,
EPMD,
Sparks,
Masters at Work,
These Immortal Souls,
Mandrill,
Y Pants,
Ituana,
The Smiths,
Rites of Spring,
Drive Like Jehu,
Mary Jane Girls,
The Doobie Brothers,
Agent Orange,
Tropical Tobacco,
Eric B and Rakim,
Spandau Ballet,
Rakim,
Maleditus Sound,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Durutti Column,
The Gladiators,
In Retrospect,
Buzzcocks,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
June Days,
Peter and Kerry,
Warren Ellis,
The Residents,
the Swans,
Stereo Dub,
Qualms,
Pantaleimon,
Delon & Dalcan,
Basic Channel,
Flamin' Groovies,
The Slits,
Japan,
Jeru the Damaja,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Andrew Hill,
The Raincoats,
Black Moon,
Ken Boothe,
Soulsonic Force, Soulsonic Force, Soulsonic Force, Soulsonic Force.
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.