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 Tuvalu and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1973.
I was there at the first Television show in New York.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Copenhagen.
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 clarinet 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 Franke to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Eyeless In Gaza. All the underground hits.
All These Immortal Souls tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pharoah Sanders record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Gladiators record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Mad Mike,
The Raincoats,
Blancmange,
Parry Music,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Spandau Ballet,
Aaron Thompson,
Babytalk,
Marine Girls,
Man Parrish,
Yusef Lateef,
New Order,
The Wake,
Wally Richardson,
Hardrive,
The Sound,
a-ha,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Tres Demented,
Magazine,
The Pop Group,
Eurythmics,
Kenny Larkin,
Curtis Mayfield,
The Last Poets,
Joensuu 1685,
Drexciya,
World's Most,
Au Pairs,
Ultra Naté,
Shuggie Otis,
Sister Nancy,
Gil Scott Heron,
Eric Dolphy,
Todd Rundgren,
Tom Boy,
Letta Mbulu,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Banda Bassotti,
the Bar-Kays,
The Red Krayola,
The Count Five,
Cecil Taylor,
New Age Steppers,
Lou Reed,
Motorama,
Bronski Beat,
Grey Daturas,
Barry Ungar,
Blake Baxter,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Television,
Chris Corsano,
The Five Americans,
The Residents,
Barbara Tucker,
Minnie Riperton,
The Techniques,
Grauzone,
The Cowsills, The Cowsills, The Cowsills, The Cowsills.
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.