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 East Timor and from Johannesburg.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Human League show in Sheffield.
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 1962 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Delhi.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Leonard Cohen to the rap 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 Max Romeo. All the underground hits.
All Roy Ayers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Justin Hinds & The Dominoes 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ken Boothe record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Traffic Nightmare,
Country Teasers,
The Blackbyrds,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Tremeloes,
The Blues Magoos,
In Retrospect,
Janne Schatter,
The Searchers,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Alice Coltrane,
Basic Channel,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
The Fall,
Max Romeo,
Chris & Cosey,
Gabor Szabo,
Skriet,
the Slits,
Easy Going,
The Sonics,
Lower 48,
Leonard Cohen,
The Pop Group,
Robert Wyatt,
Oblivians,
Todd Rundgren,
Morten Harket,
Robert Görl,
Arcadia,
Organ,
Maleditus Sound,
The Fortunes,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Scott Walker,
Loose Ends,
Erykah Badu,
Derrick Morgan,
Minnie Riperton,
Thee Headcoats,
the Germs,
Terry Callier,
Thompson Twins,
Pulsallama,
The Flesh Eaters,
Pet Shop Boys,
Eurythmics,
Dave Gahan,
The Divine Comedy,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Dennis Brown,
Excepter,
Derrick May,
Radiohead,
Junior Murvin,
Silicon Teens,
Deepchord,
Aural Exciters,
Faraquet,
Rakim,
Roxy Music,
Can,
Black Moon, Black Moon, Black Moon, Black Moon.
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.