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 Lucia and from Mexico City.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Johannesburg.
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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Livin' Joy to the dance 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 Fear. All the underground hits.
All The Smoke tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Idris Muhammad record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Cure record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Dark Day,
A Certain Ratio,
John Cale,
Roger Hodgson,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Eric B and Rakim,
Boredoms,
Rekid,
The Toasters,
In Retrospect,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Arthur Verocai,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Marvin Gaye,
10cc,
Monolake,
Man Parrish,
The Young Rascals,
Intrusion,
Los Fastidios,
Suburban Knight,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Quando Quango,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Banda Bassotti,
Reagan Youth,
Alice Coltrane,
Ultra Naté,
Joy Division,
Liliput,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
EPMD,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Masters at Work,
Kerri Chandler,
Maleditus Sound,
The Detroit Cobras,
Lebanon Hanover,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Yazoo,
Girls At Our Best!,
The Fugs,
Black Bananas,
Roxy Music,
The Alarm Clocks,
The Names,
Hardrive,
Black Flag,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Whodini,
Bobby Womack,
Roxette,
The Selecter,
Scion,
The Smiths,
Barrington Levy,
Mr. Review,
Ohio Players,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Flamin' Groovies,
This Heat,
Subhumans, Subhumans, Subhumans, Subhumans.
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.