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 Poland and from Shanghai.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1969 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Lyon.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Milan 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 chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Flipper to the grime kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 James Chance & The Contortions. All the underground hits.
All Chrome tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Pop Group 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 '90s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Offenders record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Thompson Twins,
Jeff Lynne,
The Smoke,
PIL,
Deadbeat,
Young Marble Giants,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Scan 7,
Grandmaster Flash,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Absolute Body Control,
Sugar Minott,
Bobby Sherman,
A Certain Ratio,
Soul Sonic Force,
Robert Görl,
Skriet,
The Electric Prunes,
Eric Copeland,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Arcadia,
Dennis Brown,
The Young Rascals,
Terry Callier,
The Human League,
Ronan,
Shuggie Otis,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Mantronix,
Suburban Knight,
Ponytail,
Country Teasers,
Steve Hackett,
Crispy Ambulance,
Kool Moe Dee,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Mandrill,
The Invisible,
Harpers Bizarre,
Jandek,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Howard Jones,
The Trojans,
Warren Ellis,
The Grass Roots,
Joey Negro,
Crispian St. Peters,
Marvin Gaye,
Pulsallama,
Swell Maps,
Lebanon Hanover,
Juan Atkins,
Porter Ricks,
Sun City Girls,
Big Daddy Kane,
Joe Finger,
Glenn Branca,
Bad Manners,
Accadde A,
Gil Scott Heron,
Slick Rick,
Rekid, Rekid, Rekid, Rekid.
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.