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 Comoros and from Portland.
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 1960 to 1973.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Lille.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Halifax 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 1983 at the first Bronski Beat practice in a loft in Brixton.
I was working on the guitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when Donald Fagen 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 The Stooges 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 H. Thieme. All the underground hits.
All Faust tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Soft Cell record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a linndrum and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Bill Near record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your organ and bought a rhodes.
I hear that you and your band have sold your rhodes and bought an organ.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The Leaves,
Cal Tjader,
Grauzone,
Gil Scott Heron,
Sun Ra,
Black Moon,
Chris Corsano,
Circle Jerks,
Glambeats Corp.,
Ituana,
Babytalk,
Eric Dolphy,
Fluxion,
the Swans,
The Index,
The Stooges,
Livin' Joy,
Dennis Brown,
Brick,
Tropical Tobacco,
Technova,
Saccharine Trust,
Todd Rundgren,
Slave,
Ronan,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
PIL,
Kurtis Blow,
Urselle,
Erasure,
The Wake,
Alison Limerick,
Interpol,
Neil Young,
Terry Callier,
Derrick Morgan,
Matthew Halsall,
Nas,
Echo & the Bunnymen,
Jimmy McGriff,
Make Up,
Amon Düül II,
Bobby Byrd,
Desert Stars,
Das Ding,
Tomorrow,
Scott Walker + Sunn O))),
Cheater Slicks,
Lower 48,
The Happenings,
Swell Maps,
Joe Finger,
The Standells,
The Blues Magoos,
Basic Channel,
X-Ray Spex,
Soul II Soul,
Patti Smith,
Louis and Bebe Barron,
Sonny Sharrock,
Arcadia,
The Motions,
Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station, Graham Central Station.
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.