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 Nauru and from Delhi.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Lagos.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bologna 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 1979 at the first Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the marimba sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon to the funk 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 Shuggie Otis. All the underground hits.
All The Standells tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Louis and Bebe Barron 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Brothers Johnson record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Johnny Clarke,
Lalo Schifrin,
Rhythim Is Rhythim,
Hardrive,
Stetsasonic,
Adolescents,
The Barracudas,
Malaria!,
Tropical Tobacco,
Sound Behaviour,
the Human League,
Lyres,
Ossler,
U.S. Maple,
Accadde A,
Donald Byrd,
The Human League,
The Leaves,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Tom Boy,
The Smiths,
Royal Trux,
Tears for Fears,
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap,
Tres Demented,
Lee Hazlewood,
Piero Umiliani,
KRS-One,
Bob Dylan,
Harmonia,
Yusef Lateef,
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
The Beau Brummels,
Grauzone,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
This Heat,
These Immortal Souls,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Little Man,
Man Eating Sloth,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Essential Logic,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Howard Jones,
Gregory Isaacs,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
a-ha,
Yaz,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Franke,
Lucky Dragons,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
The Dave Clark Five,
Ultra Naté,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Buckinghams,
Newcleus,
Von Mondo,
The Vogues,
The J.B.'s,
Mad Mike, Mad Mike, Mad Mike, Mad Mike.
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.