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 Algeria and from Jakarta.
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 1968 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Paris and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Salvador 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 oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Barrington Levy to the electroclash 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 The Divine Comedy. All the underground hits.
All Man Parrish tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Bang On A Can 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bill Wells record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a linndrum.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
JFA,
Throbbing Gristle,
Hot Snakes,
Girls At Our Best!,
Tropical Tobacco,
Joey Negro,
Porter Ricks,
Main Source,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Roxy Music,
The Sonics,
The Blues Magoos,
Grauzone,
A Certain Ratio,
Babytalk,
Eric Dolphy,
Lindisfarne,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Bill Wells,
The Star Department,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
AZ,
Sun Ra,
cv313,
Black Sheep,
New Age Steppers,
Bauhaus,
the Fania All-Stars,
Make Up,
Tommy Roe,
Tom Boy,
Lou Christie,
Judy Mowatt,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Reagan Youth,
Fatback Band,
Delta 5,
Tim Buckley,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Danielle Patucci,
Faraquet,
Lucky Dragons,
the Normal,
Jeff Lynne,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Barry Ungar,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Crash Course in Science,
The Misunderstood,
Johnny Osbourne,
Fluxion,
Kurtis Blow,
Japan,
Ponytail,
Jesper Dahlback,
Altered Images,
Second Layer,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Mandrill, Mandrill, Mandrill, Mandrill.
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.