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 Iceland and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1975.
I was there at the first Ubu show in Cleveland.
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 1961 to 1976.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Manchester and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Johannesburg 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 1979 at the first Second Layer practice in a loft in South London.
I was working on the oboe 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 Anthony Braxton to the dance kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Newcleus. All the underground hits.
All Bang on a Can All-Stars tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Porter Ricks record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Hardrive record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Brass Construction,
Japan,
The Red Krayola,
Idris Muhammad,
Harpers Bizarre,
Ossler,
the Slits,
Delon & Dalcan,
Cluster,
Das Ding,
Funkadelic,
Stockholm Monsters,
Popol Vuh,
Gastr Del Sol,
Crooked Eye,
The Remains,
Swell Maps,
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Half Japanese,
The Busters,
Scott Walker,
Joy Division,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Barrington Levy,
Jerry's Kids,
The Gladiators,
DJ Sneak,
Mark Hollis,
Warsaw,
The Evens,
Fatback Band,
The Fire Engines,
Wire,
Radio Birdman,
Scion,
Outsiders,
This Heat,
The Divine Comedy,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
In Retrospect,
Massinfluence,
World's Most,
Blossom Toes,
The Pretty Things,
Procol Harum,
Davy DMX,
Angels of Light & Akron/Family,
Newcleus,
Circle Jerks,
Juan Atkins,
Lucky Dragons,
Ronan,
The Cure,
Iggy Pop,
Eden Ahbez,
Basic Channel,
Archie Shepp,
Nirvana,
Zero Boys,
Yazoo,
UT,
Al Stewart,
T. Rex,
Amazonics, Amazonics, Amazonics, Amazonics.
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.