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 Malta and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1969 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
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 Scrapy to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Malaria!. All the underground hits.
All Byron Stingily tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Circle Jerks record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Mark Hollis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
the Bar-Kays,
Black Flag,
Hardrive,
Peter and Kerry,
The Barracudas,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Eric Dolphy,
Altered Images,
Frankie Knuckles,
Delta 5,
Warsaw,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Carl Craig,
Al Stewart,
One Last Wish,
The Smoke,
Porter Ricks,
The Cure,
Matthew Halsall,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Los Fastidios,
Faraquet,
Roger Hodgson,
Cheater Slicks,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Joe Finger,
Tears for Fears,
Public Enemy,
Little Man,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Sound Behaviour,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Amazonics,
Qualms,
Ultra Naté,
Half Japanese,
Brass Construction,
Pussy Galore,
The Last Poets,
The Blues Magoos,
a-ha,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Scientists,
The Leaves,
Alton Ellis,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Pagans,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Grandmaster Flash,
8 Eyed Spy,
Quantec,
Eric B and Rakim,
T. Rex,
E-Dancer,
Jesper Dahlback,
Freddie Wadling,
Aloha Tigers,
Johnny Clarke,
R.M.O.,
Henry Cow,
The Moleskins, The Moleskins, The Moleskins, The Moleskins.
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.