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 Portugal and from Stockholm.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia 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 1966 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Delhi and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 guitar 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 Sad Lovers and Giants to the punk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Andrew Hill. All the underground hits.
All Strawberry Alarm Clock tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Hasil Adkins record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Evens record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Crispian St. Peters,
Crispy Ambulance,
Curtis Mayfield,
Underground Resistance,
Darondo,
The Mojo Men,
Boz Scaggs,
Skaos,
Mark Hollis,
Essential Logic,
Amon Düül,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Toasters,
Erasure,
Al Stewart,
Man Eating Sloth,
Sixth Finger,
Alton Ellis,
Quantec,
Frankie Knuckles,
Q and Not U,
The Pretty Things,
Soulsonic Force,
Echospace,
Gregory Isaacs,
Sun Ra,
Public Image Ltd.,
Cheater Slicks,
Half Japanese,
Robert Wyatt,
China Crisis,
Jesper Dahlback,
Technova,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Arcadia,
The Vogues,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Kas Product,
Skarface,
Quadrant,
Desert Stars,
Clear Light,
Stereo Dub,
Reagan Youth,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
The Gun Club,
Tommy Roe,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Wings,
Rakim,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Newcleus,
Johnny Clarke,
Deakin,
Alison Limerick,
Arab on Radar,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Tropical Tobacco,
Joensuu 1685,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Brick,
Swell Maps,
Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily, Byron Stingily.
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.