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 Chile and from Philadelphia.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lille and Portland.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Bremen 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 Josef K practice in a loft in Edinburgh.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 The Residents to the grime kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Ultimate Spinach. All the underground hits.
All Subhumans tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Victims record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a snare and a spring reverb and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bang on a Can All-Stars record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Kurtis Blow,
Country Teasers,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Lungfish,
Scratch Acid,
Q and Not U,
A Certain Ratio,
EPMD,
Lalann,
Parry Music,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Al Stewart,
Chrome,
Bobby Womack,
Ossler,
World's Most,
Joyce Sims,
Country Joe & The Fish,
The Fortunes,
Yusef Lateef,
Ponytail,
F. McDonald,
Wings,
The Cosmic Jokers,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Suburban Knight,
Tim Buckley,
The Young Rascals,
Stetsasonic,
Sarah Menescal,
Girls At Our Best!,
Groovy Waters,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Camouflage,
Television Personalities,
Essential Logic,
Ultravox,
Chris Corsano,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Stiv Bators,
Scott Walker,
Barry Ungar,
Monolake,
The Standells,
The Beau Brummels,
Rotary Connection,
The Selecter,
Y Pants,
Radio Birdman,
Bronski Beat,
Glambeats Corp.,
Rakim,
Ultimate Spinach,
Colin Newman,
Marine Girls,
Siglo XX,
Icehouse,
Little Man,
Urselle,
Faust,
Don Cherry,
Arcadia,
The Residents,
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.