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 Mauritania and from Manchester.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Bowie show in Bromley.
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 1960 to 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Madrid.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Hong Kong 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 New Order to the dance kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 June of 44. All the underground hits.
All Grandmaster Flash tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Max Romeo 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 rhodes and a sitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Freddie Wadling record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Susan Cadogan,
Marmalade,
Wire,
Intrusion,
Tommy Roe,
The Pretty Things,
Jeff Mills,
Supertramp,
Rites of Spring,
DJ Sneak,
The Flesh Eaters,
Terror Squad Feat. Camron,
the Germs,
X-101,
Howard Jones,
Michelle Simonal,
Althea and Donna,
Black Moon,
Ken Boothe,
Jeru the Damaja,
Warsaw,
Johnny Clarke,
Godley & Creme,
Zero Boys,
Traffic Nightmare,
Can,
Pussy Galore,
Aaron Thompson,
The Gap Band,
Radio Birdman,
Q and Not U,
Yellowson,
Alton Ellis,
CMW,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
The Invisible,
Scratch Acid,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
The Monks,
Bush Tetras,
Neil Young & Crazy Horse,
Matthew Halsall,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Tom Boy,
Scientists,
Minny Pops,
Davy DMX,
the Slits,
Jesper Dahlback,
Urselle,
Albert Ayler,
Alison Limerick,
Bobby Byrd,
LL Cool J,
Sarah Menescal,
The Birthday Party,
Curtis Mayfield,
Franke,
David McCallum,
Silicon Teens,
Smog,
Unwound,
Colin Newman,
The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines, The Fire Engines.
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.