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 Armenia and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1980.
I was there at the first Cybotron 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 1965 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Beijing and Stockholm.
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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 the Swans to the grime 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 Drive Like Jehu. All the underground hits.
All Notorious Big And Bone Thugs tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Barry Ungar 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 '80s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a rhodes 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 guitar and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a guitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Essential Logic,
R.M.O.,
The Velvet Underground,
Henry Cow,
Reagan Youth,
Davy DMX,
Soul II Soul,
Fad Gadget,
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark,
Cybotron,
CMW,
Lucky Dragons,
Panda Bear,
The Blackbyrds,
This Heat,
DNA,
Khruangbin,
The Zeros,
Mandrill,
The Fortunes,
Barbara Tucker,
Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra,
Curtis Mayfield,
Jesper Dahlbäck,
Visage,
Con Funk Shun,
Absolute Body Control,
The Fugs,
Rekid,
Harmonia,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
The Offenders,
The Fuzztones,
Delta 5,
Joe Smooth,
Danielle Patucci,
LL Cool J,
Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish,
Symarip,
The Electric Prunes,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Joyce Sims,
Mad Mike,
Supertramp,
Swans,
Brothers Johnson,
Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam,
Blake Baxter,
Camberwell Now,
Nik Kershaw,
Shoche,
Joey Negro,
Eddi Front,
Cluster,
The Dave Clark Five,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Fifty Foot Hose,
The Angels of Light,
Michelle Simonal,
Talk Talk,
the Germs, the Germs, the Germs, the Germs.
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.