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 El Salvador and from Lille.
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 1960 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Bologna and Beijing.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Winnipeg 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 1967 at the first Rodriguez practice in a loft in Detroit.
I was working on the mellotron sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Juan Atkins to the techno kids.
I played it at the Hacienda.
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 The Grass Roots. All the underground hits.
All Ronan tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Beasts of Bourbon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a 808 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 mellotron and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear that you and your band have sold your arpeggiator and bought a mellotron.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Fela Kuti,
Hardrive,
Yusef Lateef,
The Cure,
The Fortunes,
Laurel Aitken,
Cheater Slicks,
Yaz,
Tears for Fears,
Electric Light Orchestra,
The Slackers,
China Crisis,
The Cowsills,
Pierre Henry,
L. Decosne,
The Misunderstood,
Major Organ And The Adding Machine,
The Blackbyrds,
Archie Shepp,
T.S.O.L.,
Freddie Wadling,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
John Cale,
Mantronix,
Gerry Rafferty,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Model 500,
Roxy Music,
Sight & Sound,
Maleditus Sound,
Gang Gang Dance,
ABC,
Crash Course in Science,
Brand Nubian,
Rites of Spring,
Danielle Patucci,
Das Ding,
Fifty Foot Hose,
Maurizio,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Johnny Clarke,
Electric Prunes,
Mission of Burma,
Isaac Hayes,
Livin' Joy,
Dead Boys,
Stockholm Monsters,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
the Normal,
Sun Ra,
Infiniti,
Nick Fraelich,
Sam Rivers,
X-101,
Parry Music,
Scrapy,
Derrick May,
Tubeway Army,
Public Image Ltd.,
Max Romeo,
Inner City,
Dave Gahan,
Ralphi Rosario,
Bootsy Collins, Bootsy Collins, Bootsy Collins, Bootsy Collins.
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.