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 Nauru and from Mumbai.
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 1965 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Cairo 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 synthesizer 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 The Cowsills to the electroclash kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Alice Coltrane. All the underground hits.
All Erykah Badu tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Reuben Wilson 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Monks record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
LL Cool J,
The Real Kids,
Scientists,
Eve St. Jones,
The Names,
The New Christs,
Dennis Brown,
kango's stein massive,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Janne Schatter,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Yellowson,
Roxy Music,
Thee Headcoats,
Connie Case,
Organ,
The Velvet Underground,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
The American Breed,
Jacob Miller,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Q and Not U,
The Gun Club,
The Cowsills,
Freddie Wadling,
Kurtis Blow,
The Barracudas,
Flipper,
Gang of Four,
Curtis Mayfield,
Soul II Soul,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
CMW,
Groovy Waters,
Grey Daturas,
Cal Tjader,
The Mojo Men,
KRS-One,
T. Rex,
Soft Cell,
Beasts of Bourbon,
China Crisis,
Cecil Taylor,
Mr. Review,
Wally Richardson,
Isaac Hayes,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Lucky Dragons,
Darondo,
Idris Muhammad,
Ossler,
Pantaleimon,
Eddi Front,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Blake Baxter,
Dark Day,
The Remains,
Erasure,
Drexciya,
Todd Terry,
Rekid,
The Monks, The Monks, The Monks, The Monks.
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.