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 South Africa and from Cairo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1987.
I was there at the first Nirvana show in Seattle.
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 1961 to 1971.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the oboe 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 Q65 to the funk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 The Shadows of Knight. All the underground hits.
All The Tremeloes tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Archie Shepp 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a rhodes and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Motions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sugar Minott,
Brothers Johnson,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
The Fortunes,
Au Pairs,
Desert Stars,
Public Enemy,
Mo-Dettes,
the Fania All-Stars,
Cluster,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Basic Channel,
Barry Ungar,
A Certain Ratio,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Max Romeo,
Althea and Donna,
Audionom,
Gang of Four,
Al Stewart,
The Leaves,
Rekid,
The Mojo Men,
Eric Copeland,
Derrick May,
Harmonia,
Depeche Mode,
Bill Wells,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Blake Baxter,
David Bowie,
The Zeros,
The Smiths,
Andrew Hill,
Index,
Sarah Menescal,
Crispian St. Peters,
Wire,
The Invisible,
The Residents,
The Grass Roots,
Ituana,
Public Image Ltd.,
Flamin' Groovies,
Khruangbin,
Minutemen,
Liaisons Dangereuses,
Leonard Cohen,
Malaria!,
Massinfluence,
The Birthday Party,
Angry Samoans,
The Dave Clark Five,
Yellowson,
Mr. Review,
E-Dancer,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Minor Threat,
Moebius,
X-Ray Spex, X-Ray Spex, X-Ray Spex, X-Ray Spex.
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.