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 Lesotho and from Beijing.
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 1968 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Tokyo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manchester 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 Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Livin' Joy to the crunk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Ten City. All the underground hits.
All The Slackers tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Quadrant record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Half Japanese record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a spring reverb.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Moody Blues,
Johnny Osbourne,
Joey Negro,
The Mojo Men,
Ronan,
Q65,
OOIOO,
Jandek,
Spoonie Gee,
Minnie Riperton,
Swell Maps,
Cecil Taylor,
Unrelated Segments,
Don Cherry,
Y Pants,
Fear,
Glenn Branca,
The Zeros,
Audionom,
Boz Scaggs,
Rotary Connection,
Barry Ungar,
Arthur Verocai,
Livin' Joy,
Soul II Soul,
Rhythm & Sound,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
Arab on Radar,
Sam Rivers,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
48th St. Collective,
Adolescents,
Absolute Body Control,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Von Mondo,
Letta Mbulu,
Crispy Ambulance,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Traffic Nightmare,
Q and Not U,
Gil Scott Heron,
Guru Guru,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Black Flag,
The Names,
The Cramps,
ABBA,
Boredoms,
Neu!,
H. Thieme,
Ludus,
Basic Channel,
Lou Reed,
Gregory Isaacs,
Robert Hood,
The Modern Lovers,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
David McCallum,
Rosa Yemen,
Gang Gang Dance,
Cybotron,
LL Cool J,
Blake Baxter, Blake Baxter, Blake Baxter, Blake Baxter.
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.