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 Azerbaijan and from Philadelphia.
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 1968 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Accra.
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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Grandmaster Flash to the techno kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Blancmange. All the underground hits.
All Alice Coltrane tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Junior Murvin record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a güiro and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Dennis Brown record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
In Retrospect,
Jawbox,
The Music Machine,
Rod Modell,
Minnie Riperton,
Jeru the Damaja,
Basic Channel,
Scratch Acid,
Iggy Pop,
Fugazi,
Little Man,
Al Stewart,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Motorama,
Max Romeo,
Ponytail,
The Zeros,
Chrome,
Easy Going,
Connie Case,
Archie Shepp,
Pere Ubu,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Goldenarms,
Darondo,
Gang of Four,
The Doors,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Victims,
Isaac Hayes,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Dual Sessions,
Panda Bear,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Urselle,
The Wake,
Interpol,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Susan Cadogan,
Amon Düül,
Rekid,
Eric B and Rakim,
Soul Sonic Force,
Brick,
Quadrant,
Jacques Brel,
Matthew Halsall,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Public Image Ltd.,
Crispian St. Peters,
Crime,
Morten Harket,
Severed Heads,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Procol Harum,
Pagans,
F. McDonald,
The Flesh Eaters,
The Monochrome Set,
Lightning Bolt,
The Mojo Men, The Mojo Men, The Mojo Men, The Mojo Men.
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.