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 Bosnia Herzegovina and from Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1964 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Electric Light Orchestra 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 Quando Quango. All the underground hits.
All Mo-Dettes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Marcia Griffiths record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a harpsichord and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Y Pants record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Cowsills,
the Human League,
Lalann,
The Slackers,
Cabaret Voltaire,
The United States of America,
Robert Hood,
Tim Buckley,
Procol Harum,
Sun City Girls,
The Fortunes,
Black Moon,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Graham Central Station,
Crispy Ambulance,
F. McDonald,
Ornette Coleman,
In Retrospect,
Absolute Body Control,
The Wake,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Prince Buster,
The Dirtbombs,
Eric B and Rakim,
Kool Moe Dee,
Junior Murvin,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Hashim,
Desert Stars,
Metal Thangz,
Amazonics,
Black Sheep,
Max Romeo,
Wings,
Sex Pistols,
The Young Rascals,
Barclay James Harvest,
Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic,
The Dave Clark Five,
Juan Atkins,
Das Ding,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Y Pants,
L. Decosne,
Basic Channel,
Fluxion,
Drive Like Jehu,
Warren Ellis,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Crooked Eye,
Pet Shop Boys,
Jacob Miller,
Reagan Youth,
Camberwell Now,
Letta Mbulu,
Man Parrish,
Isaac Hayes,
Curtis Mayfield,
Ralphi Rosario,
Deakin,
Massinfluence,
Clear Light,
Joy Division, Joy Division, Joy Division, Joy Division.
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.