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 East Timor and from Woodstock.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Art of Noise show in 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 1969 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Shanghai and Manchester.
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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 John Cale to the crunk 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 Velvet Underground. All the underground hits.
All Funkadelic tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Outsiders record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a 808 and a marimba and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bill Wells record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Monolake,
Grey Daturas,
Davy DMX,
Ituana,
Anthony Braxton,
The Invisible,
Moebius,
The Moody Blues,
Zapp,
Public Enemy,
Mad Mike,
Smog,
Gang of Four,
a-ha,
E-Dancer,
Donny Hathaway,
Newcleus,
Liliput,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Rotary Connection,
Bang On A Can,
Faust,
Con Funk Shun,
The Vogues,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Associates,
Unrelated Segments,
Khruangbin,
Tommy Roe,
Aural Exciters,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Lou Reed,
Curtis Mayfield,
Rufus Thomas,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
MDC,
Echospace,
Gil Scott Heron,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Camouflage,
The Fire Engines,
Alton Ellis,
Bootsy's Rubber Band,
Lightning Bolt,
Matthew Bourne,
The Electric Prunes,
Marine Girls,
UT,
Jerry's Kids,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Avey Tare,
Stereo Dub,
The Litter,
The Victims,
Tubeway Army,
Roxy Music,
Second Layer,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Derrick May, Derrick May, Derrick May, Derrick May.
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.