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 Equatorial Guinea and from Manchester.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Human League show in Sheffield.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the güiro sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 World's Most 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 Fear. All the underground hits.
All Flamin' Groovies tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mantronix record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Eli Mardock record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
DNA,
Vladislav Delay,
Drive Like Jehu,
The United States of America,
The Divine Comedy,
Donny Hathaway,
Q65,
Nico,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Soul II Soul,
Vainqueur,
The Cure,
Infiniti,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Techniques,
Alphaville,
Scrapy,
Subhumans,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
PIL,
The Slackers,
The Searchers,
Cymande,
Gichy Dan,
Urselle,
The New Christs,
Traffic Nightmare,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Black Flag,
Barrington Levy,
Gang Starr,
The Smoke,
The Knickerbockers,
Drexciya,
The Black Dice,
Harmonia,
Ultra Naté,
La Düsseldorf,
Magma,
Maleditus Sound,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Saccharine Trust,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Sex Pistols,
Ludus,
The Blackbyrds,
Radiohead,
Grandmaster Flash,
The Moleskins,
Babytalk,
Flash Fearless,
New York Dolls,
Lebanon Hanover,
B.T. Express,
Rites of Spring,
Moebius,
the Germs,
Glambeats Corp.,
Moby Grape,
Fat Boys,
Inner City,
These Immortal Souls,
Eyeless In Gaza,
The Fall, The Fall, The Fall, The Fall.
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.