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 Belarus and from Lille.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in London.
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 1965 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Bologna.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Lebanon Hanover to the funk 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 Ronnie Foster. All the underground hits.
All Groovy Waters tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Loose Ends 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a harpsichord and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a PIL record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Joe Finger,
the Normal,
The Mighty Diamonds,
Gang Green,
Robert Wyatt,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Michelle Simonal,
Pet Shop Boys,
Eric B and Rakim,
Marmalade,
Porter Ricks,
Eric Copeland,
Suicide,
the Sonics,
Cecil Taylor,
Icehouse,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Black Moon,
Susan Cadogan,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Misunderstood,
The Grass Roots,
Piero Umiliani,
Maurizio,
Bob Dylan,
The Remains,
The Blackbyrds,
Soft Cell,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Scrapy,
Cabaret Voltaire,
The Skatalites,
The Birthday Party,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
New Age Steppers,
The Seeds,
Wings,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Stetsasonic,
The Moleskins,
Cheater Slicks,
Pagans,
Lightning Bolt,
DJ Sneak,
Average White Band,
Byron Stingily,
Dawn Penn,
The Dirtbombs,
Liliput,
FM Einheit,
Alphaville,
Erykah Badu,
Scan 7,
Brick,
Cymande,
Hot Snakes,
The Leaves,
Ultravox,
Sandy B,
Quadrant, Quadrant, Quadrant, Quadrant.
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.