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 Thailand and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Big Star show in Memphis.
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 1960 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Winnipeg 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 oboe 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 Monks to the grunge kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Intrusion. All the underground hits.
All Teenage Jesus and the Jerks tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Japan 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Ultra Naté record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Arthur Verocai,
Boz Scaggs,
Max Romeo,
The Real Kids,
CMW,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Sun Ra,
The Raincoats,
Bronski Beat,
Arab on Radar,
Joe Finger,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Groovy Waters,
the Association,
the Bar-Kays,
Radiopuhelimet,
Supertramp,
One Last Wish,
The Victims,
the Normal,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
The New Christs,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Black Sheep,
Ultra Naté,
Crooked Eye,
The Seeds,
Delon & Dalcan,
The Happenings,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Harmonia,
Freddie Wadling,
Mantronix,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Big Daddy Kane,
The Alarm Clocks,
Flamin' Groovies,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
The Pretty Things,
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,
The Tremeloes,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Drive Like Jehu,
Index,
Eric Dolphy,
Bobby Sherman,
The Leaves,
Marc Almond,
Symarip,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Gang Green,
Rapeman,
The Remains,
Animal Collective,
Sister Nancy,
Hashim,
Grey Daturas,
Barbara Tucker,
Theoretical Girls,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
The Shadows of Knight,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Tomorrow,
Roxy Music, Roxy Music, Roxy Music, Roxy Music.
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.