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 Burundi and from Manchester.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1961 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mumbai and Woodstock.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1983 at the first Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Selector Dub Narcotic to the techno kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Judy Mowatt. All the underground hits.
All Crispian St. Peters tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Terrestrial Tones 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Jeru the Damaja record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Sonics,
the Sonics,
Wally Richardson,
Minnie Riperton,
Fear,
Gabor Szabo,
Graham Central Station,
Arcadia,
R.M.O.,
OOIOO,
Drive Like Jehu,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Terry Callier,
Masters at Work,
Joensuu 1685,
Chris Corsano,
Anakelly,
Half Japanese,
The Star Department,
Howard Jones,
Ludus,
Deepchord,
Gang of Four,
Fluxion,
Robert Hood,
One Last Wish,
Moby Grape,
The Victims,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
H. Thieme,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Easy Going,
Agent Orange,
KRS-One,
Shuggie Otis,
Alison Limerick,
China Crisis,
Main Source,
Bill Wells,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Flipper,
Black Pus,
The Detroit Cobras,
The Pop Group,
CMW,
Sarah Menescal,
The Young Rascals,
Kool Moe Dee,
Public Image Ltd.,
Groovy Waters,
Reagan Youth,
X-101,
Eric B and Rakim,
LL Cool J,
The Index,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Todd Rundgren,
Patti Smith,
A Certain Ratio,
Y Pants,
Harmonia, Harmonia, Harmonia, Harmonia.
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.