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 Vietnam and from Manchester.
But I was there.
I was there in 1984.
I was there at the first Arcadia show in London.
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 1966 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Madrid and Toronto.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Madrid 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 snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 David Bowie to the funk kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Lou Christie. All the underground hits.
All Fluxion tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Flamin' Groovies record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grunge hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '70s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a mellotron 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 snare and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Sly & The Family Stone,
Duran Duran,
LL Cool J,
The Doobie Brothers,
Harpers Bizarre,
Vainqueur,
Oblivians,
Skriet,
Whodini,
Boogie Down Productions,
The Names,
The Techniques,
Sun City Girls,
The American Breed,
One Last Wish,
Lyres,
F. McDonald,
Camberwell Now,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
10cc,
Brothers Johnson,
Zero Boys,
Stiv Bators,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Grass Roots,
Spandau Ballet,
Gang Gang Dance,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Youth Brigade,
Silicon Teens,
Big Daddy Kane,
the Association,
The Offenders,
Scion,
Eden Ahbez,
Soul Sonic Force,
Scott Walker,
Joe Smooth,
Nils Olav,
Kango’s Stein Massive,
Morten Harket,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Little Man,
Jacques Brel,
Amon Düül II,
MDC,
Slave,
Black Moon,
Susan Cadogan,
Public Image Ltd.,
The Moody Blues,
Rhythm & Sound,
The Buckinghams,
Shuggie Otis,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Camouflage,
The Monochrome Set,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Marvin Gaye,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Alphaville,
Animal Collective,
The Walker Brothers, The Walker Brothers, The Walker Brothers, The Walker Brothers.
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.