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 Nepal and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1965.
I was there at the first Beefheart show in Lancaster.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 rhodes 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 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to the grunge 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 The Gladiators. All the underground hits.
All Kool Moe Dee tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sixth Finger record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap 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 güiro and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Fortunes record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a güiro.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Grass Roots,
The Associates,
The Buckinghams,
The Wake,
Sister Nancy,
Qualms,
The Last Poets,
Ronan,
Vainqueur,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Stooges,
The Trojans,
Darondo,
The Cowsills,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Flash Fearless,
Reuben Wilson,
Fluxion,
Eve St. Jones,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Average White Band,
A Certain Ratio,
F. McDonald,
Metal Thangz,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Pole,
Excepter,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Wally Richardson,
Dawn Penn,
Angry Samoans,
Liliput,
Slick Rick,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Connie Case,
The Martian,
the Sonics,
Scott Walker,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Eddi Front,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The American Breed,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Con Funk Shun,
Wasted Youth,
Au Pairs,
Severed Heads,
B.T. Express,
10cc,
The Sonics,
Thompson Twins,
Judy Mowatt,
The Red Krayola,
Jerry's Kids,
Skaos,
Flipper,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Pharoah Sanders,
Khruangbin,
Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis, Mark Hollis.
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.