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 Lithuania and from Mumbai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978.
I was there at the first Visage 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 1960 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Houston and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 The Pretty Things to the rock 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 Quadrant. All the underground hits.
All Basic Channel tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Evens 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Barry Ungar record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
JFA,
Lindisfarne,
Little Man,
the Bar-Kays,
Lou Reed,
Cameo,
Tropical Tobacco,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Cure,
The Vogues,
Youth Brigade,
Swans,
Kenny Larkin,
Peter and Kerry,
The Royal Family And The Poor,
Delon & Dalcan,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Television Personalities,
The Litter,
Matthew Bourne,
The Kinks,
Prince Buster,
Man Parrish,
Lee Hazlewood,
Livin' Joy,
Graham Central Station,
Arthur Verocai,
The Human League,
The Golliwogs,
The Knickerbockers,
DJ Style,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Mad Mike,
Mission of Burma,
Eve St. Jones,
Second Layer,
The Invisible,
48th St. Collective,
David McCallum,
Nirvana,
8 Eyed Spy,
Procol Harum,
Pantaleimon,
Davy DMX,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Johnny Clarke,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Faust,
Rekid,
MDC,
PIL,
Eddi Front,
Hoover,
Drexciya,
Average White Band,
Oneida,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Pulsallama,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Sixth Finger,
New Age Steppers,
Anthony Braxton,
Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins, Juan Atkins.
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.