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 Senegal and from Glasgow.
But I was there.
I was there in 1979.
I was there at the first Second Layer show in South 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 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Copenhagen and Manchester.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1976 at the first Feelies practice in a loft in Haledon.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Japan to the punk kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Ralphi Rosario. All the underground hits.
All Fear tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mission of Burma 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 theremin and a chamberlin and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a The Motions record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Magazine,
the Human League,
The Gladiators,
Cal Tjader,
The Standells,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Lee Hazlewood,
Deepchord,
Average White Band,
Sun City Girls,
Lalo Schifrin,
The Fire Engines,
UT,
Crispy Ambulance,
Interpol,
Pagans,
Susan Cadogan,
The Move,
Lebanon Hanover,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Anakelly,
Jimmy McGriff,
Schoolly D,
Q and Not U,
the Germs,
PIL,
Kool Moe Dee,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Public Enemy,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Q65,
The Blues Magoos,
Radiopuhelimet,
Country Teasers,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
John Holt,
Joyce Sims,
Jawbox,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Urselle,
The New Christs,
L. Decosne,
Soft Machine,
Fela Kuti,
Andrew Hill,
Von Mondo,
The Barracudas,
Flipper,
Khruangbin,
Kerri Chandler,
Delta 5,
Sound Behaviour,
Gichy Dan,
MDC,
the Swans,
Sight & Sound,
Tom Boy,
The J.B.'s,
Morten Harket,
Wings,
Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman.
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.