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 Jamaica and from Bremen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1961 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in London and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 KRS-One to the rap 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 Wire. All the underground hits.
All The Selecter tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Zero Boys record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime 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 sitar and a synthesizer and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Desert Stars record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Colin Newman,
The Star Department,
Barbara Tucker,
The Sisters of Mercy,
The Toasters,
Anakelly,
One Last Wish,
The United States of America,
Rekid,
Rufus Thomas,
Nik Kershaw,
The Trojans,
Graham Central Station,
Mantronix,
The Birthday Party,
Prince Buster,
Johnny Osbourne,
FM Einheit,
The Slackers,
The Offenders,
Don Cherry,
Henry Cow,
Ludus,
Massinfluence,
Bill Near,
Adolescents,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
The Cramps,
Neil Young,
Masters at Work,
Gang Gang Dance,
Oblivians,
MC5,
The Doobie Brothers,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Dead Boys,
The Knickerbockers,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Man Parrish,
Tears for Fears,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Delon & Dalcan,
The Beau Brummels,
The Remains,
Freddie Wadling,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
New York Dolls,
Röyhkä ja Rättö ja Lehtisalo,
Hardrive,
Peter and Kerry,
Pantaleimon,
Heaven 17,
The Gladiators,
Matthew Bourne,
Joy Division,
Stetsasonic,
Inner City,
kango's stein massive,
the Human League,
Sight & Sound, Sight & Sound, Sight & Sound, Sight & Sound.
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.