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 Trinidad & Tobago and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Buzzcocks show in Bolton.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Salvador.
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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 X-102 to the crunk 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 Monks. All the underground hits.
All Gang Starr tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Royal Family And The Poor record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Hashim record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Pagans,
The Busters,
Nas,
Dark Day,
Country Teasers,
Frankie Knuckles,
The Move,
Unwound,
Flipper,
Babytalk,
Lungfish,
The Gun Club,
Minor Threat,
Kevin Saunderson,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
OOIOO,
Intrusion,
MDC,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Outsiders,
David Bowie,
Can,
Japan,
Yusef Lateef,
Dead Boys,
the Slits,
Freddie Wadling,
Lalo Schifrin,
Siglo XX,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Smog,
Girls At Our Best!,
Suburban Knight,
Pere Ubu,
Idris Muhammad,
Blossom Toes,
Pulsallama,
Schoolly D,
Grauzone,
the Sonics,
Bobby Sherman,
Television Personalities,
Blancmange,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Symarip,
Zapp,
Throbbing Gristle,
Rites of Spring,
Loose Ends,
Faraquet,
Fort Wilson Riot,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Camouflage,
The Blues Magoos,
Bill Wells,
Panda Bear,
Warren Ellis,
Josef K,
Stetsasonic,
Wire,
Sonic Youth,
Fela Kuti,
Vainqueur, Vainqueur, Vainqueur, Vainqueur.
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.