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 Malawi and from Shanghai.
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 1962 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Woodstock and Jakarta.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Edmonton 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 snare 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 Bluetip to the dance kids.
I played it at Trash.
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 T.S.O.L.. All the underground hits.
All Sexual Harrassment tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every The Zeros 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 a rhodes and a mellotron and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pole record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought a snare.
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,
Malaria!,
Alphaville,
Saccharine Trust,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Ronan,
Country Joe & The Fish,
Motorama,
Alton Ellis,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Lee Hazlewood,
La Düsseldorf,
Amon Düül,
Gong,
Delta 5,
Monolake,
Jimmy McGriff,
Avey Tare,
Model 500,
Ornette Coleman,
Public Enemy,
Brothers Johnson,
JFA,
The Birthday Party,
Ultravox,
Negative Approach,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
Gichy Dan,
Freddie Wadling,
Absolute Body Control,
Matthew Bourne,
Kurtis Blow,
Gang Starr,
Peter and Kerry,
Neil Young,
The Tremeloes,
Kaleidoscope,
Jeff Lynne,
Roxette,
Cymande,
The Victims,
Erasure,
Goldenarms,
Inner City,
Easy Going,
Qualms,
KRS-One,
Cal Tjader,
Dennis Brown,
Hashim,
Black Moon,
Dawn Penn,
MC5,
Reagan Youth,
Aural Exciters,
Moss Icon,
Susan Cadogan,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Barbara Tucker,
The Raincoats,
Ash Ra Tempel, Ash Ra Tempel, Ash Ra Tempel, Ash Ra Tempel.
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.