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 Syria and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1962 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 organ sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Birthday Party to the rap kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 New Order. All the underground hits.
All Henry Cow tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every PIL record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a theremin and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Rhythim Is Rhythim record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Tubeway Army,
Man Eating Sloth,
Kas Product,
Drexciya,
Tommy Roe,
Eden Ahbez,
Dorothy Ashby,
Rapeman,
OOIOO,
Swell Maps,
Patti Smith,
The Saints,
Motorama,
PIL,
Radiopuhelimet,
Can,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Cheater Slicks,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Gerry Rafferty,
Fat Boys,
Mad Mike,
Moby Grape,
Sun City Girls,
Pere Ubu,
The United States of America,
Spoonie Gee,
Silicon Teens,
Brick,
Bad Manners,
The Blackbyrds,
In Retrospect,
Youth Brigade,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Pierre Henry,
Tropical Tobacco,
Todd Rundgren,
Aural Exciters,
Johnny Clarke,
The Raincoats,
Flamin' Groovies,
Albert Ayler,
Grauzone,
X-102,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Average White Band,
Charles Mingus,
Visage,
Outsiders,
Boredoms,
Ronnie Foster,
New Order,
Model 500,
The Associates,
the Bar-Kays,
Robert Görl,
Donald Byrd,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
The Star Department, The Star Department, The Star Department, The Star Department.
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.