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 Seychelles and from Woodstock.
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 1964 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manila and Seoul.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Taipei 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 Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Sonics to the grime 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 Nation of Ulysses. All the underground hits.
All Model 500 tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Nils Olav record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a ABC record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your linndrum and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a linndrum.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jeru the Damaja,
James White and The Blacks,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Barrington Levy,
Fat Boys,
Excepter,
The Pop Group,
Unrelated Segments,
Prince Buster,
Max Romeo,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Josef K,
Harmonia,
Camberwell Now,
Black Bananas,
Soul II Soul,
Anakelly,
The Toasters,
Ossler,
Rod Modell,
Terry Callier,
Monks,
Schoolly D,
Vainqueur,
Agent Orange,
Soulsonic Force,
The Tremeloes,
Funkadelic,
Au Pairs,
Subhumans,
Minutemen,
Lucky Dragons,
Aural Exciters,
Matthew Bourne,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Kool Moe Dee,
Arab on Radar,
Amazonics,
Laurel Aitken,
Hardrive,
Glenn Branca,
Eden Ahbez,
Nils Olav,
Janne Schatter,
June Days,
Cal Tjader,
Stiv Bators,
Mary Jane Girls,
Amon Düül,
John Foxx,
Lightning Bolt,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Kurtis Blow,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Rakim,
The Red Krayola,
Alton Ellis,
The Slackers,
Moebius,
Quando Quango,
Morten Harket,
Echospace,
Gang Green, Gang Green, Gang Green, Gang Green.
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.