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 Egypt and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1967 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Taipei and Houston.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Scrapy to the funk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Tres Demented. All the underground hits.
All Cluster tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 rhodes and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a It's A Beautiful Day record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Country Teasers,
Moby Grape,
The Fortunes,
Quando Quango,
Dark Day,
Fatback Band,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Con Funk Shun,
The Remains,
Reuben Wilson,
The Dave Clark Five,
Circle Jerks,
The Standells,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
DJ Style,
Mo-Dettes,
The Barracudas,
Gil Scott Heron,
Aural Exciters,
Eli Mardock,
Popol Vuh,
Barbara Tucker,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
The Blackbyrds,
Pulsallama,
Nation of Ulysses,
The Moleskins,
Goldenarms,
Urselle,
Grey Daturas,
Joe Smooth,
The Detroit Cobras,
Scientists,
Cheater Slicks,
T. Rex,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Rakim,
Public Enemy,
Harmonia,
The Litter,
The Blues Magoos,
B.T. Express,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
The Velvet Underground,
cv313,
Public Image Ltd.,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Bill Wells,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
Dawn Penn,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Basic Channel,
The Invisible,
The Saints,
The Pop Group,
The Human League,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Terrestrial Tones,
Radiopuhelimet,
Glenn Branca,
Jandek,
Hot Snakes,
Joey Negro, Joey Negro, Joey Negro, Joey Negro.
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.