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 Cambodia and from Woodstock.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in London.
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 1963 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Fluxion to the disco kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Danielle Patucci. All the underground hits.
All Ponytail tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Smog record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 clarinet and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Chocolate Watch Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Smiths,
Cybotron,
The Buckinghams,
Newcleus,
Ice-T,
Eric Copeland,
The United States of America,
Basic Channel,
Television Personalities,
Colin Newman,
Todd Terry,
The Busters,
Marshall Jefferson,
Derrick Morgan,
Trumans Water,
Aswad,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Eurythmics,
Lightning Bolt,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Marine Girls,
The Raincoats,
the Soft Cell,
Gong,
Pussy Galore,
Dawn Penn,
The Barracudas,
Parry Music,
Traffic Nightmare,
Swans,
Davy DMX,
Oblivians,
Michelle Simonal,
Second Layer,
The Golliwogs,
Pole,
The Alarm Clocks,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Eric B and Rakim,
Neu!,
Radiopuhelimet,
Wire,
The Birthday Party,
Soulsonic Force,
Vainqueur,
Khruangbin,
Althea and Donna,
Ultimate Spinach,
The Slits,
Neil Young,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Lyres,
Barclay James Harvest,
ABC,
Ossler,
Circle Jerks,
Gil Scott Heron,
The Leaves,
The Walker Brothers,
Gastr Del Sol,
Zero Boys, Zero Boys, Zero Boys, Zero Boys.
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.