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 Hong Kong.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South London.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lagos and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 1976 at the first Buzzcocks practice in a loft in Bolton.
I was working on the clarinet 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 Babytalk to the dance 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 The Grass Roots. All the underground hits.
All Groovy Waters tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Essential Logic record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Manfred Mann's Earth Band record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your 808 and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a 808.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Human League,
the Bar-Kays,
Bronski Beat,
Metal Thangz,
Erykah Badu,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
The Knickerbockers,
Marcia Griffiths,
Slave,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Marshall Jefferson,
Brand Nubian,
The Alarm Clocks,
Harmonia,
Ponytail,
EPMD,
Supertramp,
Soul II Soul,
PIL,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Jeff Mills,
The Doors,
the Fania All-Stars,
Y Pants,
Q65,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
John Holt,
Goldenarms,
Unwound,
Black Sheep,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
10cc,
Arthur Verocai,
Ultravox,
Cymande,
Barrington Levy,
Yusef Lateef,
Sonic Youth,
Radiopuhelimet,
T.S.O.L.,
Blake Baxter,
Ten City,
Kaleidoscope,
Agent Orange,
John Coltrane,
Terry Callier,
Kurtis Blow,
Peter & Gordon,
Shuggie Otis,
Godley & Creme,
The Happenings,
Lebanon Hanover,
The Fortunes,
Prince Buster,
Gregory Isaacs,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Pere Ubu,
Throbbing Gristle,
Juan Atkins,
Nico,
Glambeats Corp.,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Quando Quango,
Easy Going,
The Motions, The Motions, The Motions, The Motions.
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.