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 St Kitts & Nevis and from Philadelphia.
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 1966 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Manila.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 1975 at the first Ubu practice in a loft in Cleveland.
I was working on the rhodes sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Half Japanese to the funk 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 Mad Mike. All the underground hits.
All The Fortunes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lou Reed 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 guitar and a 808 and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Gregory Isaacs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Human League,
Dawn Penn,
Matthew Halsall,
Minor Threat,
The Alarm Clocks,
The Barracudas,
Maurizio,
Whodini,
Cheater Slicks,
Jawbox,
Essential Logic,
Michelle Simonal,
Sparks,
Minny Pops,
Average White Band,
Bootsy Collins,
Young Marble Giants,
The Doors,
Kurtis Blow,
The Martian,
John Holt,
The New Christs,
Niagra,
Steve Hackett,
Amon Düül II,
Circle Jerks,
D'Angelo,
The Index,
ABC,
Jandek,
Crime,
Sight & Sound,
Moby Grape,
Aswad,
Liliput,
One Last Wish,
The Cowsills,
Absolute Body Control,
Outsiders,
The Happenings,
The Cure,
Bobby Womack,
Radio Birdman,
Goldenarms,
Rod Modell,
Inner City,
In Retrospect,
Quantec,
Agitation Free,
Crispian St. Peters,
Anthony Braxton,
Roy Ayers,
Eurythmics,
Schoolly D,
the Sonics,
Fugazi,
Ralphi Rosario,
the Soft Cell,
Severed Heads,
Erykah Badu,
Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh.
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.