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 Suriname and from Cairo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 1965 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 mellotron 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 The Detroit Cobras 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 De La Soul & Jungle Brothers. All the underground hits.
All The Knickerbockers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sight & Sound 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Misunderstood record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Clarke,
Kayak,
Skaos,
Bobby Byrd,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Pussy Galore,
Harry Pussy,
a-ha,
Y Pants,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Fela Kuti,
Thompson Twins,
Marvin Gaye,
Trumans Water,
Iggy Pop,
The Index,
Motorama,
The Invisible,
Camouflage,
The Trojans,
Loose Ends,
Heaven 17,
The Real Kids,
Supertramp,
Quadrant,
The Knickerbockers,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Barrington Levy,
Gil Scott Heron,
Beasts of Bourbon,
In Retrospect,
Dawn Penn,
Rapeman,
Nick Fraelich,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Das Ding,
Grauzone,
Angry Samoans,
Eric Copeland,
Fat Boys,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Brand Nubian,
The Gories,
Siglo XX,
Nas,
Fluxion,
Cecil Taylor,
Marshall Jefferson,
The Motions,
Henry Cow,
Josef K,
Ice-T,
Reagan Youth,
Silicon Teens,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Sam Rivers,
Tommy Roe,
Lou Reed, Lou Reed, Lou Reed, Lou Reed.
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.