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 Iraq and from Stockholm.
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 1967 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Edmonton and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Fear to the dance kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 JFA. All the underground hits.
All The Mighty Diamonds tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Scientists record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal electroclash hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and a snare and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Patti Smith record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a sitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your sitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sam Rivers,
Rufus Thomas,
the Slits,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
The Velvet Underground,
Interpol,
The Cowsills,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Patti Smith,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Lucky Dragons,
Letta Mbulu,
Faraquet,
the Soft Cell,
Tropical Tobacco,
Terry Callier,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Funky Four + One,
Grey Daturas,
The Offenders,
Bobby Hutcherson,
Urselle,
Henry Cow,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Happenings,
Slave,
MC5,
Josef K,
John Foxx,
Connie Case,
Rod Modell,
Arab on Radar,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Massinfluence,
New York Dolls,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Lou Reed,
Lindisfarne,
Moby Grape,
The Angels of Light,
Sexual Harrassment,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
The Techniques,
The Tremeloes,
Boogie Down Productions,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Lee Hazlewood,
Skarface,
Sixth Finger,
Brick,
Joe Smooth,
The Monks,
The Divine Comedy,
Eric B and Rakim,
Freddie Wadling,
Popol Vuh,
Rowland S Howard / Lydia Lunch,
Erasure,
Radiopuhelimet,
Bobby Byrd,
Monolake,
Agent Orange, Agent Orange, Agent Orange, Agent Orange.
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.