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 Turkmenistan and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1980.
I was there at the first Cybotron show in Detroit.
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 1967 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Arthur Verocai to the disco kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Barracudas. All the underground hits.
All Marcia Griffiths tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Kurtis Blow record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal disco 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 an organ and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Peter and Kerry,
Ralphi Rosario,
The Seeds,
Nik Kershaw,
Excepter,
Au Pairs,
The Stooges,
Jeff Lynne,
The Remains,
Colin Newman,
Angry Samoans,
Index,
Vladislav Delay,
Girls At Our Best!,
Lalann,
In Retrospect,
Marvin Gaye,
Lyres,
Ten City,
Hasil Adkins,
the Germs,
Sarah Menescal,
Monolake,
Kas Product,
Lindisfarne,
Barrington Levy,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Black Flag,
Minny Pops,
Drive Like Jehu,
David McCallum,
Stereo Dub,
Ronan,
Guru Guru,
the Normal,
Royal Trux,
Arab on Radar,
The Happenings,
Cheater Slicks,
Magma,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Underground Resistance,
Crime,
Fad Gadget,
Bizarre Inc.,
The Misunderstood,
Gabor Szabo,
Grey Daturas,
The Saints,
Gichy Dan,
Pere Ubu,
Icehouse,
Amon Düül,
The Gories,
Unwound,
Skriet,
The Cowsills,
Brass Construction,
Trumans Water,
The Sound,
Harry Pussy,
Second Layer,
Ken Boothe, Ken Boothe, Ken Boothe, Ken Boothe.
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.