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 Uzbekistan and from Tokyo.
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 1964 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Mumbai.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Mexico City 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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the güiro 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 Jawbox to the grunge 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 Shuggie Otis. All the underground hits.
All Y Pants tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Minnie Riperton 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 '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a spring reverb and an oboe 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 sitar and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Mantronix,
Derrick Morgan,
Wally Richardson,
Mars,
The Sonics,
The Slackers,
The Dead C,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Absolute Body Control,
Easy Going,
The Associates,
Gong,
Eve St. Jones,
Swans,
The Pop Group,
The Selecter,
Barry Ungar,
Bootsy Collins,
Brass Construction,
The Divine Comedy,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
the Normal,
Dawn Penn,
Vaughan Mason & Crew,
The Fire Engines,
Al Stewart,
Todd Rundgren,
Kerri Chandler,
F. McDonald,
Agitation Free,
The Barracudas,
The Offenders,
the Germs,
ABBA,
Bobby Sherman,
X-Ray Spex,
Morten Harket,
Grandmaster Flash,
Fear,
Sugar Minott,
John Coltrane,
New York Dolls,
In Retrospect,
Funkadelic,
LL Cool J,
Sonny Sharrock,
Country Teasers,
Erykah Badu,
OOIOO,
Soul Sonic Force,
Suicide,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
The Dirtbombs,
Kayak,
Sister Nancy,
E-Dancer,
Jeru the Damaja,
John Lydon,
Skarface,
the Fania All-Stars,
The Black Dice,
The Blues Magoos,
Second Layer,
Charles Mingus, Charles Mingus, Charles Mingus, Charles Mingus.
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.