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 Ghana and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1966 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and London.
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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 Erasure to the rap kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Sarah Menescal. All the underground hits.
All The Offenders tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Sex Pistols record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Howard Jones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
PIL,
The Slits,
Dead Boys,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Mantronix,
Robert Wyatt,
Tim Buckley,
Con Funk Shun,
A Flock of Seagulls,
K-Klass,
Stockholm Monsters,
Skriet,
Junior Murvin,
The Misunderstood,
The Associates,
The Selecter,
Donny Hathaway,
Radiohead,
Prince Buster,
The Cure,
Drive Like Jehu,
Scrapy,
Lungfish,
Little Man,
The Fuzztones,
Bad Manners,
Funkadelic,
Buzzcocks,
The Standells,
Joy Division,
Nik Kershaw,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Quantec,
Youth Brigade,
The Busters,
Quando Quango,
Blossom Toes,
The Grass Roots,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Residents,
Magma,
The Remains,
Oblivians,
New Age Steppers,
Jimmy McGriff,
The Star Department,
Godley & Creme,
The Moody Blues,
Rufus Thomas,
The Barracudas,
David Bowie,
Infiniti,
Kerri Chandler,
Schoolly D,
JFA,
KRS-One,
Kevin Saunderson,
Monolake,
Blancmange,
Wasted Youth,
L. Decosne,
Q65,
Judy Mowatt, Judy Mowatt, Judy Mowatt, Judy Mowatt.
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.