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 Bolivia and from London.
But I was there.
I was there in 1977.
I was there at the first Mistral show in Amsterdam.
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 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Cairo and Bologna.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Philadelphia 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 chamberlin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Holger Czukay 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 Vladislav Delay to the funk kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 kango's stein massive. All the underground hits.
All Crispy Ambulance tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Liaisons Dangereuses 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a clarinet and a sitar 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 synthesizer and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Public Enemy,
Joy Division,
Rekid,
Graham Central Station,
Kas Product,
The Detroit Cobras,
Frankie Knuckles,
Absolute Body Control,
Rosa Yemen,
Ash Ra Tempel,
The Standells,
The Smiths,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Morten Harket,
Essential Logic,
The Birthday Party,
Average White Band,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Scrapy,
Josef K,
The Monochrome Set,
Roger Hodgson,
Wire,
Erykah Badu,
Jeru the Damaja,
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud,
Motorama,
The Pretty Things,
Faust,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Von Mondo,
Quadrant,
Carl Craig,
Procol Harum,
Japan,
The Cure,
Crispy Ambulance,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx,
Reagan Youth,
Jawbox,
The Gun Club,
Chris Corsano,
Spoonie Gee,
Scientists,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Traffic Nightmare,
Lizzy Mercier Descloux,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
LL Cool J,
EPMD,
Accadde A,
Todd Terry,
Bootsy Collins,
Eve St. Jones,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Oblivians,
Sight & Sound,
Wolf Eyes,
Dark Day,
Bronski Beat,
The Mojo Men,
The Wake,
John Coltrane,
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.