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 Burundi and from Lille.
But I was there.
I was there in 1983.
I was there at the first Bronski Beat show in Brixton.
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 1967 to 1972.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Lyon and Delhi.
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 1971 at the first Neu! practice in a loft in Düsseldorf.
I was working on the mellotron 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 Yellowson to the rock kids.
I played it at the 40 Watt.
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 Althea and Donna. All the underground hits.
All The Fire Engines tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Notorious BIG live in Amsterdam record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal punk 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 clarinet and a rhodes 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 sitar and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a sitar.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Tubeway Army,
Don Cherry,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Marine Girls,
The Doors,
Black Flag,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Bootsy Collins,
Crispy Ambulance,
Audionom,
Strawberry Alarm Clock,
the Normal,
Oneida,
Scientists,
Fat Boys,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Spoonie Gee,
the Slits,
The Mojo Men,
Scion,
48th St. Collective,
Panda Bear,
Roger Hodgson,
Wire,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Tom Boy,
cv313,
Radiopuhelimet,
the Fania All-Stars,
Royal Trux,
Aswad,
Babytalk,
Dorothy Ashby,
Accadde A,
Lightning Bolt,
Radio Birdman,
Avey Tare,
Gastr Del Sol,
Colin Newman,
Matthew Halsall,
The Trojans,
Essential Logic,
F. McDonald,
Bronski Beat,
Bobby Sherman,
Soul Sonic Force,
Schoolly D,
Juan Atkins,
The Fall,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Matthew Bourne,
The Count Five,
Talk Talk,
Half Japanese,
Throbbing Gristle,
Adolescents, Adolescents, Adolescents, Adolescents.
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.