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 Kyrgyzstan and from Houston.
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 1964 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1976 at the first Chic practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the linndrum sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Jimmy McGriff to the dance kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 The Misunderstood. All the underground hits.
All Jeff Lynne tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Gong 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a guitar 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 oboe and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gil Scott Heron,
Aural Exciters,
Duran Duran,
Traffic Nightmare,
Soft Cell,
Mad Mike,
Funkadelic,
Ronnie Foster,
London Community Gospel Choir,
K-Klass,
Metal Thangz,
Be Bop Deluxe,
David Bowie,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Jacques Brel,
Rufus Thomas,
The Beau Brummels,
Radiopuhelimet,
The Monochrome Set,
Jerry's Kids,
Quando Quango,
Leonard Cohen,
Pierre Henry,
CMW,
The Index,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Trumans Water,
Deepchord,
The Dead C,
Johnny Clarke,
Black Moon,
MC5,
The Neon Judgement,
Carl Craig,
the Association,
Radio Birdman,
Organ,
Schoolly D,
Todd Terry,
Brick,
Amon Düül,
The Remains,
Scrapy,
Model 500,
Gang Green,
Black Sheep,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Archie Shepp,
Henry Cow,
The Misunderstood,
Eve St. Jones,
The Modern Lovers,
Black Flag,
The Buckinghams,
Laurel Aitken,
The Golliwogs,
Essential Logic,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Johnny Osbourne,
Theoretical Girls,
Clear Light, Clear Light, Clear Light, Clear Light.
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.