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 Rwanda and from Taipei.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Stockholm and Halifax.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tehran 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 1971 at the first Selda practice in a loft in Istanbul.
I was working on the rhodes 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 Jeru the Damaja to the crunk 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 The Trojans. All the underground hits.
All Curtis Mayfield tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Radiopuhelimet record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an organ and a theremin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Letta Mbulu 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?
Gang Starr,
Con Funk Shun,
the Association,
Max Romeo,
The Tremeloes,
Reagan Youth,
Oppenheimer Analysis,
Joe Finger,
World's Most,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Negative Approach,
Cluster,
Scrapy,
Fugazi,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Newcleus,
The Dead C,
The Fugs,
One Last Wish,
Au Pairs,
Buzzcocks,
The Dirtbombs,
The Music Machine,
Freddie Wadling,
Vladislav Delay,
Jeff Mills,
Aswad,
Rosa Yemen,
Deadbeat,
Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan,
Erykah Badu,
David Axelrod,
Bill Near,
The Gories,
La Düsseldorf,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Pet Shop Boys,
Idris Muhammad,
Ralphi Rosario,
Junior Murvin,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Kayak,
Suburban Knight,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Lyres,
U.S. Maple,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
Basic Channel,
Funkadelic,
Scan 7,
Niagra,
Arab on Radar,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Bill Wells,
Cheater Slicks,
Zero Boys,
Funky Four + One,
Sun City Girls,
Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu, Drive Like Jehu.
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.