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 Fiji and from Bremen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Zapp show in Hamilton.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Philadelphia and Johannesburg.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mumbai 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 spring reverb sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Joe Finger to the rock kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 Sound Behaviour. All the underground hits.
All Donald Byrd tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Golliwogs 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a rhodes and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Terrestrial Tones record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your synthesizer and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Ten City,
The Fugs,
Hot Snakes,
Gang Gang Dance,
Au Pairs,
Dawn Penn,
Sun Ra,
Bobbi Humphrey,
DJ Style,
Andrew Hill,
Masters at Work,
Fatback Band,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Mojo Men,
Can,
Reagan Youth,
Soft Cell,
Flash Fearless,
Donny Hathaway,
China Crisis,
Crispy Ambulance,
Ultimate Spinach,
Clear Light,
Malaria!,
The Star Department,
Minnie Riperton,
Talk Talk,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Schoolly D,
Gabor Szabo,
Ultra Naté,
Erykah Badu,
Deadbeat,
Harpers Bizarre,
the Bar-Kays,
Camberwell Now,
One Last Wish,
The Tremeloes,
Traffic Nightmare,
Procol Harum,
Boz Scaggs,
Agent Orange,
The Gories,
James Chance & The Contortions,
In Retrospect,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Lucky Dragons,
Kas Product,
Ultravox,
Avey Tare,
Mad Mike,
Lakeside,
Livin' Joy,
Underground Resistance,
Porter Ricks,
Rhythm & Sound,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Youth Brigade,
Wally Richardson,
FM Einheit,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Chrome,
Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh, Popol Vuh.
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.