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 Swaziland and from Mumbai.
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 1964 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 marimba 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 T.S.O.L. to the grunge 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 Angels of Light & Akron/Family. All the underground hits.
All Eric B and Rakim tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Audionom record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Boogie Down Productions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought an organ.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Fugazi,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Sound Behaviour,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Leaves,
cv313,
Marine Girls,
New York Dolls,
Erykah Badu,
The Move,
Quando Quango,
The Pretty Things,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Ken Boothe,
The Doobie Brothers,
Motorama,
Circle Jerks,
The Names,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Sandy B,
Todd Terry,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Joey Negro,
Jerry's Kids,
Porter Ricks,
Altered Images,
The Gun Club,
Neu!,
Jeru the Damaja,
Yusef Lateef,
Scratch Acid,
Iggy Pop,
Darondo,
Pet Shop Boys,
LL Cool J,
The Grass Roots,
The Index,
Pulsallama,
The Wake,
DNA,
The Monks,
The Kinks,
Qualms,
Fela Kuti,
Siglo XX,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Pagans,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Letta Mbulu,
Kool Moe Dee,
Tropical Tobacco,
Aaron Thompson,
Juan Atkins,
The United States of America,
Sam Rivers,
Make Up,
Shuggie Otis,
The Music Machine,
Eurythmics,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Livin' Joy,
Echospace, Echospace, Echospace, Echospace.
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.