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 Mauritius and from Portland.
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 1969 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Accra 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 harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Magazine to the punk 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 Idris Muhammad. All the underground hits.
All De La Soul & Jungle Brothers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Marmalade record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Boz Scaggs record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Count Five,
The Fire Engines,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Prince Buster,
Pantytec,
Nas,
Lebanon Hanover,
Absolute Body Control,
Radiohead,
Aswad,
Yusef Lateef,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Magma,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Agitation Free,
the Sonics,
Gil Scott Heron,
Bootsy Collins,
Zero Boys,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Deadbeat,
Unrelated Segments,
Q65,
Clear Light,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Underground Resistance,
The Evens,
Index,
The Fugs,
Brand Nubian,
Popol Vuh,
Pantaleimon,
Funky Four + One,
Joyce Sims,
John Foxx,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Peter and Kerry,
The Martian,
Leonard Cohen,
The Move,
Zapp,
Andrew Hill,
Flipper,
Chris & Cosey,
Babytalk,
Cabaret Voltaire,
the Swans,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
In Retrospect,
The Slackers,
Godley & Creme,
La Düsseldorf,
Unwound,
The Neon Judgement,
Dead Boys,
Minny Pops,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Boredoms,
Goldenarms,
Flamin' Groovies, Flamin' Groovies, Flamin' Groovies, Flamin' Groovies.
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.