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 Morocco and from Copenhagen.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1963 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Calgary.
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 1977 at the first Human League practice in a loft in Sheffield.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Leaves to the rock kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Ken Boothe. All the underground hits.
All Loose Ends tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Fortunes record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a guitar and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bang On A Can record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Main Source,
Popol Vuh,
Das Ding,
The Standells,
Mantronix,
Joyce Sims,
the Fania All-Stars,
Flipper,
CMW,
The Smiths,
Heaven 17,
James White and The Blacks,
Tubeway Army,
Kool Moe Dee,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
The Monks,
Essential Logic,
Youth Brigade,
In Retrospect,
Al Stewart,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Nirvana,
Ten City,
Soul II Soul,
Interpol,
Massinfluence,
Kurtis Blow,
Amon Düül II,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Theoretical Girls,
Sunsets and Hearts,
Swell Maps,
Smog,
Newcleus,
Minor Threat,
Minnie Riperton,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Trojans,
Don Cherry,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Johnny Osbourne,
Ohio Players,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Bobby Womack,
The Dead C,
Scion,
Inner City,
Urselle,
The Flesh Eaters,
Harpers Bizarre,
Bizarre Inc.,
Scrapy,
Easy Going,
Young Marble Giants,
The Human League,
the Soft Cell,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Whodini,
B.T. Express,
This Heat,
Gang of Four,
Sound Behaviour,
Black Flag, Black Flag, Black Flag, Black Flag.
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.