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 Georgia and from Beijing.
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 1964 to 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Salvador and Spokane.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Tokyo 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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the oboe 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 Unwound to the rap kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
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 Count Five. All the underground hits.
All Henry Cow tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Eric B and Rakim record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and an oboe 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 snare and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Harry Pussy,
Excepter,
The Seeds,
Pantaleimon,
Los Fastidios,
Whodini,
Sister Nancy,
Ice-T,
Barclay James Harvest,
Grandmaster Flash,
This Heat,
The Fugs,
Metal Thangz,
Morten Harket,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Bush Tetras,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
the Slits,
Joey Negro,
The Monks,
Vladislav Delay,
Warsaw,
Moebius,
Ultimate Spinach,
Connie Case,
Stereo Dub,
Rekid,
Scan 7,
Lungfish,
Accadde A,
Tomorrow,
Eden Ahbez,
Stockholm Monsters,
The Neon Judgement,
Gang Starr,
The Mojo Men,
Rapeman,
kango's stein massive,
The Real Kids,
John Cale,
Reuben Wilson,
Liliput,
Deepchord,
Roxette,
Boredoms,
Brass Construction,
Circle Jerks,
Mission of Burma,
Dennis Brown,
Anakelly,
Chris Corsano,
Agent Orange,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
DJ Style,
The Blackbyrds,
Bobbi Humphrey,
Echospace,
Sarah Menescal,
Godley & Creme,
Urselle,
Radio Birdman,
Y Pants,
Mandrill,
Nation of Ulysses, Nation of Ulysses, Nation of Ulysses, Nation of Ulysses.
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.