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 South Sudan and from Seoul.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Chic show in New York.
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 1961 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Philadelphia.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tokyo 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 Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the clarinet sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Warren Ellis to the grime kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Angels of Light & Akron/Family. All the underground hits.
All Minutemen tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Isaac Hayes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Joe Smooth record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Faust,
Brick,
Nirvana,
Jeru the Damaja,
Porter Ricks,
the Soft Cell,
Black Moon,
Ludus,
Cluster,
Joe Smooth,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Flash Fearless,
K-Klass,
Letta Mbulu,
The Young Rascals,
CMW,
Sister Nancy,
Joe Finger,
The Names,
The Golliwogs,
The Dave Clark Five,
The Red Krayola,
Average White Band,
Con Funk Shun,
Arthur Verocai,
Rekid,
The Dead C,
Quando Quango,
T.S.O.L.,
Au Pairs,
Suicide,
Drive Like Jehu,
The Human League,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Evens,
Babytalk,
Warren Ellis,
Lakeside,
The Monochrome Set,
Angry Samoans,
Brass Construction,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The Slits,
Funkadelic,
Audionom,
Nas,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Camberwell Now,
Q65,
Kas Product,
Ralphi Rosario,
Bill Near,
Cymande,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Eric Dolphy,
Al Stewart,
MC5,
Nik Kershaw,
The Fortunes,
The Five Americans,
Flamin' Groovies,
Vainqueur, Vainqueur, Vainqueur, Vainqueur.
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.