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 Bangladesh and from Tehran.
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 1968 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Toronto and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Livin' Joy to the punk 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 Black Flag. All the underground hits.
All A Certain Ratio tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pierre Henry 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 '70s.
I hear you're buying a linndrum and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Brick record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Vladislav Delay,
Niagra,
The Blackbyrds,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Agitation Free,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Erykah Badu,
Matthew Bourne,
Faust,
the Germs,
Symarip,
MC5,
The Names,
The Birthday Party,
Radiopuhelimet,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Mary Jane Girls,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
La Düsseldorf,
Suburban Knight,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
David Axelrod,
X-Ray Spex,
Wings,
Ohio Players,
Thee Headcoats,
Tubeway Army,
Graham Central Station,
Television Personalities,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
Deakin,
Amon Düül II,
Negative Approach,
Archie Shepp,
Slave,
AZ,
Bobby Byrd,
Spandau Ballet,
Fatback Band,
The Walker Brothers,
Cal Tjader,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Pylon,
Gichy Dan,
Arcadia,
Rites of Spring,
the Slits,
The Happenings,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Minor Threat,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
The Human League,
Silicon Teens,
The Fire Engines,
Inner City,
Jacques Brel,
Nik Kershaw,
Procol Harum,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Second Layer,
Be Bop Deluxe, Be Bop Deluxe, Be Bop Deluxe, Be Bop Deluxe.
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.