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 Bangladesh and from Delhi.
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 1963 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lyon 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 Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the 808 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 John Cale to the electroclash 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 Reuben Wilson. All the underground hits.
All The Beau Brummels tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Ituana 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a güiro and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Howard Jones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Jawbox,
Aaron Thompson,
The Happenings,
H. Thieme,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
The Gap Band,
David McCallum,
Bad Manners,
Saccharine Trust,
Bush Tetras,
Sun City Girls,
Electric Prunes,
Matthew Halsall,
48th St. Collective,
Unwound,
Half Japanese,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Andrew Hill,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
L. Decosne,
Reagan Youth,
Big Daddy Kane,
T.S.O.L.,
Pantaleimon,
Harry Pussy,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
The Fall,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Freddie Wadling,
Lindisfarne,
Pharoah Sanders,
The Busters,
The Fortunes,
Interpol,
Stereo Dub,
CMW,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
One Last Wish,
Black Pus,
Mad Mike,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Royal Trux,
Max Romeo,
Fugazi,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Mark Hollis,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
X-102,
Aswad,
Cybotron,
Scrapy,
Blancmange,
The Move,
Crispy Ambulance,
Sun Ra,
Matthew Bourne,
Idris Muhammad,
Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators, Stiv Bators.
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.