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 Sweden and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Soft Boys show in Cambridge.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school New York 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 1977 at the first Mistral practice in a loft in Amsterdam.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 David Axelrod to the techno kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 The Cowsills. All the underground hits.
All Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Adolescents record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 an arpeggiator and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Richard Hell and the Voidoids record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a spring reverb.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a harpsichord.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Skarface,
Brass Construction,
Second Layer,
Bronski Beat,
Wasted Youth,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Smiths,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Monks,
Pharoah Sanders,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Junior Murvin,
Interpol,
Essential Logic,
Cameo,
The Fire Engines,
Mandrill,
Little Man,
The Electric Prunes,
Ponytail,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Donald Byrd,
La Düsseldorf,
Royal Trux,
Masters at Work,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Brick,
Theoretical Girls,
Youth Brigade,
Slave,
Fear,
The Fugs,
Sällskapet,
Make Up,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Hashim,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Tropical Tobacco,
Outsiders,
Oneida,
Fat Boys,
Fad Gadget,
MDC,
Byron Stingily,
Todd Terry,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Agent Orange,
Cal Tjader,
The Birthday Party,
Aswad,
Yellowson,
Gregory Isaacs,
John Cale,
Dennis Brown,
Vladislav Delay,
Erasure,
Lalann,
Kerri Chandler,
Black Flag,
the Normal,
The Five Americans, The Five Americans, The Five Americans, The Five Americans.
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.