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 Marshall Islands and from Houston.
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 1965 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Delhi 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Alison Limerick to the grunge kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Jeff Mills. All the underground hits.
All Judy Mowatt tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Joe Smooth 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Shuggie Otis record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a 808.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Au Pairs,
Bill Near,
The Modern Lovers,
Dorothy Ashby,
Nation of Ulysses,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
The Index,
Flamin' Groovies,
Kenny Larkin,
Section 25,
Delta 5,
Kaleidoscope,
Black Sheep,
Cybotron,
Bush Tetras,
Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks,
Pantytec,
Rakim,
Sister Nancy,
Brass Construction,
Crooked Eye,
The Techniques,
Big Daddy Kane,
E-Dancer,
Rapeman,
Swans,
Lee Hazlewood,
Das Ding,
the Fania All-Stars,
Tears for Fears,
Accadde A,
Guru Guru,
Trumans Water,
Gong,
Unwound,
Basic Channel,
Eddi Front,
Man Parrish,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Archie Shepp,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
The Martian,
The Moleskins,
Roy Ayers,
Pet Shop Boys,
Royal Trux,
Bad Manners,
F. McDonald,
The Real Kids,
Electric Prunes,
Flipper,
The Neon Judgement,
Unrelated Segments,
The Fortunes,
Tom Boy,
Echospace,
Wolf Eyes,
Tommy Roe,
Gang Starr,
Massinfluence,
The Selecter,
Supertramp, Supertramp, Supertramp, Supertramp.
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.