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 New Zealand and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Human League show in Sheffield.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Milan.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 L. Decosne to the grime kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. All the underground hits.
All Kango’s Stein Massive tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Deakin record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Danielle Patucci record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your spring reverb and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro 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?
Radio Birdman,
Clear Light,
Girls At Our Best!,
Jawbox,
Pantaleimon,
Sunsets and Hearts,
EPMD,
Fatback Band,
Slave,
Accadde A,
Carl Craig,
Lalann,
Chris & Cosey,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Mark Hollis,
Simply Red,
Eve St. Jones,
Aloha Tigers,
Ludus,
Royal Trux,
Hashim,
The Techniques,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
The J.B.'s,
In Retrospect,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Ajijia Myrayebe,
Average White Band,
Fugazi,
The Martian,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Rufus Thomas,
Isaac Hayes,
Cal Tjader,
Matthew Bourne,
Crispy Ambulance,
X-Ray Spex,
Sonny Sharrock,
The Zeros,
AZ,
Soft Cell,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Angels of Light,
Robert Görl,
Kerri Chandler,
Derrick Morgan,
Jeru the Damaja,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Ornette Coleman,
Absolute Body Control,
The Skatalites,
Sun City Girls,
Howard Jones,
Colin Newman,
Scientists,
Eli Mardock,
The Vogues,
Dorothy Ashby,
The Blues Magoos,
The Velvet Underground,
Bobby Womack, Bobby Womack, Bobby Womack, Bobby Womack.
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.