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 Taiwan and from Milan.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1965 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Cymande to the electroclash 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 Oblivians. All the underground hits.
All Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Angels of Light & Akron/Family record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap 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 güiro and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a X-Ray Spex record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
John Cale,
Quantec,
The Cramps,
Gastr Del Sol,
Ituana,
Jacob Miller,
Ken Boothe,
The Leaves,
Franke,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Joensuu 1685,
Donny Hathaway,
Scott Walker,
Alphaville,
Heaven 17,
Colin Newman,
The United States of America,
Dawn Penn,
Lightning Bolt,
Ronan,
Bill Near,
Yellowson,
The Stooges,
the Human League,
Gregory Isaacs,
Spandau Ballet,
June of 44,
Bauhaus,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
The Evens,
The Doors,
Visage,
Excepter,
Skaos,
Mad Mike,
The New Christs,
The Real Kids,
The Invisible,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Bizarre Inc.,
EPMD,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Howard Jones,
JFA,
Pierre Henry,
UT,
Hoover,
This Heat,
Panda Bear,
Lakeside,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Sixth Finger,
D'Angelo,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Music Machine,
Television,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Los Fastidios,
Ice-T,
Urselle,
Josef K, Josef K, Josef K, Josef K.
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.