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 Ivory Coast and from Glasgow.
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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Black Dice to the rap kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Icehouse. All the underground hits.
All Reagan Youth tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Gregory Isaacs 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a James Chance & The Contortions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Offenders,
The Shadows of Knight,
The Busters,
Piero Umiliani,
The Velvet Underground,
Jacob Miller,
Kool Moe Dee,
The Walker Brothers,
The Techniques,
Slave,
Basic Channel,
Lou Christie,
Pierre Henry,
Wally Richardson,
Minor Threat,
Sandy B,
kango's stein massive,
Donny Hathaway,
Flipper,
Pole,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Junior Murvin,
Electric Prunes,
Rotary Connection,
Rod Modell,
Derrick May,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Masters at Work,
Pharoah Sanders,
Tropical Tobacco,
The Red Krayola,
The Modern Lovers,
Model 500,
Barrington Levy,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
the Human League,
Lakeside,
Fluxion,
Jawbox,
La Düsseldorf,
Lebanon Hanover,
Eve St. Jones,
The Litter,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Eyeless In Gaza,
R.M.O.,
Dual Sessions,
Stockholm Monsters,
The Vogues,
Swell Maps,
John Lydon,
Howard Jones,
Gil Scott Heron,
the Slits,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Monochrome Set,
Bill Wells,
The Mojo Men,
Groovy Waters,
Sam Rivers,
Easy Going,
the Germs,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Silicon Teens, Silicon Teens, Silicon Teens, Silicon Teens.
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.