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 Sudan and from Lagos.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Wire show in Watford.
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 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in New York and Hong Kong.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lagos 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 1984 at the first Arcadia practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Unwound to the rap 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 Beau Brummels. All the underground hits.
All Easy Going tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Richard Hell and the Voidoids record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a sitar and an arpeggiator 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 synthesizer and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Lonnie Liston Smith,
The Searchers,
The Cure,
This Heat,
Rahsaan Roland Kirk,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Smog,
The Fire Engines,
Flipper,
Junior Murvin,
Animal Collective,
The Smiths,
Wolf Eyes,
Crispy Ambulance,
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane,
Fort Wilson Riot,
Kayak,
Blancmange,
Scott Walker,
The Leaves,
The Human League,
Davy DMX,
Ludus,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Marc Almond,
a-ha,
Talk Talk,
Depeche Mode,
The Residents,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Laurel Aitken,
The Trojans,
Althea and Donna,
Whodini,
Guru Guru,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Tim Buckley,
Maleditus Sound,
Glambeats Corp.,
Sarah Menescal,
8 Eyed Spy,
Motorama,
John Lydon,
Justin Hinds & The Dominoes,
The Buckinghams,
MDC,
Severed Heads,
The Moody Blues,
The Durutti Column,
Donny Hathaway,
Eurythmics,
Mad Mike,
Roy Ayers Ubiquity,
Soft Machine,
Sandy B,
Young Marble Giants,
Charles Mingus,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Happenings,
Bad Manners,
Blossom Toes, Blossom Toes, Blossom Toes, Blossom Toes.
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.