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 Sudan and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1968 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Stockholm and Jakarta.
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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
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 Lou Reed to the grime kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Blues Magoos. All the underground hits.
All LL Cool J tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every It's A Beautiful Day record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and an arpeggiator 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 clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Walker Brothers,
The Slackers,
Boz Scaggs,
Roxette,
Skaos,
Tears for Fears,
Neu!,
The Golliwogs,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Magazine,
Sam Rivers,
Stereo Dub,
John Coltrane,
Lucky Dragons,
Pantytec,
The Monochrome Set,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Standells,
Sarah Menescal,
Suicide,
Royal Trux,
Swell Maps,
F. McDonald,
D'Angelo,
Avey Tare,
Sight & Sound,
Aural Exciters,
Black Moon,
Gil Scott Heron,
Stiv Bators,
Newcleus,
Gong,
Saccharine Trust,
Erykah Badu,
The Beau Brummels,
Joe Smooth,
Radio Birdman,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Victims,
Organ,
Barbara Tucker,
Grauzone,
Hardrive,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Public Enemy,
Monolake,
Nation of Ulysses,
Bill Wells,
Al Stewart,
cv313,
Agent Orange,
Pulsallama,
Cluster,
Ohio Players,
Hasil Adkins,
Erasure,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
Dawn Penn,
Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu.
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.