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 Namibia and from Johannesburg.
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 1966 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 The Cowsills to the punk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Skarface. All the underground hits.
All Sexual Harrassment tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Golliwogs record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Drexciya record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Silicon Teens,
Franke,
Fugazi,
The Happenings,
Essential Logic,
Nation of Ulysses,
Parry Music,
The Doobie Brothers,
Bob Dylan,
Alton Ellis,
Joey Negro,
Pussy Galore,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Matthew Halsall,
The Names,
Wasted Youth,
Minor Threat,
Stockholm Monsters,
Delon & Dalcan,
the Human League,
Youth Brigade,
the Slits,
Bill Near,
T. Rex,
Pet Shop Boys,
Metal Thangz,
Half Japanese,
Radio Birdman,
Patti Smith,
Clear Light,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Golliwogs,
The Neon Judgement,
Sister Nancy,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
The Remains,
The Saints,
Bauhaus,
Slave,
Boz Scaggs,
Funkadelic,
Animal Collective,
The Star Department,
Royal Trux,
Groovy Waters,
Flipper,
Mission of Burma,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
Colin Newman,
Gang Green,
Barry Ungar,
Popol Vuh,
Harry Pussy,
Wire,
Bluetip,
Scott Walker,
Chrome,
The Divine Comedy,
The Gladiators,
Hashim,
Heaven 17,
Electric Prunes,
The Blues Magoos,
ABC, ABC, ABC, ABC.
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.