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 Grenada and from Accra.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Winnipeg and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the güiro 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 The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band to the grime kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 Angels of Light. All the underground hits.
All Smog tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Teenage Jesus and the Jerks 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a mellotron and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Surgeon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Cluster,
Tears for Fears,
Fad Gadget,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Kerrie Biddell,
Chrome,
Anthony Braxton,
Steve Hackett,
Swans,
The Residents,
Loose Ends,
Bootsy Collins,
In Retrospect,
Piero Umiliani,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Audionom,
Ice-T,
Tim Buckley,
Lou Christie,
Jeff Lynne,
LL Cool J,
Flash Fearless,
The Trojans,
James White and The Blacks,
Trumans Water,
The Modern Lovers,
The Moleskins,
The Shadows of Knight,
Joy Division,
Guru Guru,
Stiv Bators,
The Cramps,
Bobby Byrd,
Masters at Work,
The Dave Clark Five,
Bobby Womack,
Roger Hodgson,
Lalann,
Joe Finger,
The Associates,
PIL,
Nils Olav,
Curtis Mayfield,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Khruangbin,
Dennis Brown,
Ultravox,
Blancmange,
Main Source,
Young Marble Giants,
Soulsonic Force,
Mission of Burma,
Neil Young,
The Invisible,
Organ,
Kaleidoscope,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Spoonie Gee,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
The Standells,
Camouflage, Camouflage, Camouflage, Camouflage.
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.