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 Croatia and from Columbus.
But I was there.
I was there in 1987.
I was there at the first Nirvana show in Seattle.
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 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Columbus and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Shanghai 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 1983 at the first Art of Noise practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the 808 sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Lower 48 to the grime kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Altered Images. All the underground hits.
All The Red Krayola tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell 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 '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a guitar and an arpeggiator and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Tom Boy record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a clarinet.
I hear that you and your band have sold your clarinet and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Newcleus,
Tommy Roe,
Jimmy McGriff,
Simply Red,
Gang Starr,
Shoche,
Second Layer,
Ultravox,
Sexual Harrassment,
Nirvana,
Marvin Gaye,
Rod Modell,
Pierre Henry,
Man Eating Sloth,
Index,
Bill Wells,
Model 500,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Masters at Work,
Saccharine Trust,
The Blackbyrds,
The Fire Engines,
Nico,
Susan Cadogan,
Livin' Joy,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Jandek,
The Smoke,
Sandy B,
Malaria!,
Funky Four + One,
A Certain Ratio,
Gil Scott Heron,
X-102,
Organ,
Scan 7,
F. McDonald,
Gichy Dan,
Sun City Girls,
AZ,
The Golliwogs,
Bauhaus,
Curtis Mayfield,
Pantaleimon,
Half Japanese,
Magazine,
Chris & Cosey,
Essential Logic,
The Durutti Column,
Jesper Dahlback,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
The Blues Magoos,
Davy DMX,
Rekid,
Television Personalities,
Deepchord,
The Motions,
The Pop Group,
T. Rex,
Matthew Bourne,
Das Ding, Das Ding, Das Ding, Das Ding.
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.