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 Canada and from Spokane.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Bowie show in Bromley.
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 1969 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Edmonton.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Paris 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 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Nile Rodgers 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 Letta Mbulu to the rock 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 Sound. All the underground hits.
All Easy Going tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Gang of Four record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rock 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 chamberlin and a marimba 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 theremin and bought a mellotron.
I hear that you and your band have sold your mellotron and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Max Romeo,
Barbara Tucker,
Kas Product,
Janne Schatter,
The New Christs,
Guru Guru,
Smog,
Nico,
The Doors,
Harmonia,
Scan 7,
Neu!,
Tomorrow,
Lucky Dragons,
Crispy Ambulance,
the Swans,
Dennis Brown,
New Age Steppers,
Grauzone,
The J.B.'s,
Kurtis Blow,
Rapeman,
Andrew Hill,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Wolf Eyes,
Mad Mike,
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five,
Gerry Rafferty,
Infiniti,
Tears for Fears,
Carl Craig,
Hashim,
Arthur Verocai,
Minnie Riperton,
Roxy Music,
The Seeds,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Ronan,
Slave,
One Last Wish,
Minor Threat,
Ohio Players,
Yaz,
Howard Jones,
the Sonics,
Arab on Radar,
the Fania All-Stars,
Spandau Ballet,
Animal Collective,
Jacob Miller,
Radio Birdman,
Silicon Teens,
Alphaville,
Lower 48,
The Smiths,
Desert Stars,
Ornette Coleman,
Unwound,
Scrapy,
ABC,
Joey Negro,
Masters at Work, Masters at Work, Masters at Work, Masters at Work.
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.