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 Guatemala and from Bologna.
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 1968 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Seoul and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 1973 at the first Television practice in a loft in New York.
I was working on the spring reverb 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 Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx to the punk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Connie Case. All the underground hits.
All The Leaves tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ossler record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Colin Newman record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Gil Scott Heron,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
The Standells,
Joy Division,
The Shadows of Knight,
Terrestrial Tones,
Cabaret Voltaire,
New Age Steppers,
the Human League,
Joensuu 1685,
Idris Muhammad,
Piero Umiliani,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Stockholm Monsters,
Royal Trux,
Amon Düül,
Peter and Kerry,
Albert Ayler,
Alice Coltrane,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Black Flag,
The Skatalites,
Grandmaster Flash,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
The Trojans,
Marmalade,
The Neon Judgement,
Second Layer,
The Remains,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Max Romeo,
Black Bananas,
Pet Shop Boys,
Gregory Isaacs,
Panda Bear,
Sun Ra,
Sparks,
The Dirtbombs,
T.S.O.L.,
Tomorrow,
The Sound,
Stiv Bators,
Severed Heads,
Johnny Osbourne,
Zapp,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Radiohead,
Blancmange,
Organ,
Lyres,
EPMD,
Fela Kuti,
the Fania All-Stars,
Eric Dolphy,
Andrew Hill,
kango's stein massive,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
Qualms,
Sugar Minott,
The Cowsills,
Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks, Porter Ricks.
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.