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 Costa Rica and from Portland.
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 Bologna and Calgary.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Copenhagen 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 1962 at the first Guess Who practice in a loft in Winnipeg.
I was working on the chamberlin 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 Curtis Mayfield to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Crocodile.
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 Brass Construction. All the underground hits.
All The Stooges tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Cecil Taylor 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 '70s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and a guitar 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 harpsichord.
I hear that you and your band have sold your harpsichord and bought a snare.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Supertramp,
Prince Buster,
Eve St. Jones,
Lee Hazlewood,
Fad Gadget,
The Selecter,
It's A Beautiful Day,
Cecil Taylor,
Television,
Lou Reed,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Pharaoh Sanders and the Fire Engines,
Blancmange,
Sun Ra Arkestra,
CMW,
Spoonie Gee,
The Tremeloes,
The Residents,
The Pretty Things,
Mission of Burma,
Boz Scaggs,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Kas Product,
Hardrive,
Eyeless In Gaza,
Kevin Saunderson,
X-Ray Spex,
Tres Demented,
Gian Franco Pienzio,
Ken Boothe,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
Michelle Simonal,
Manfred Mann's Earth Band,
Nirvana,
The Smoke,
Glambeats Corp.,
Neil Young,
Slick Rick,
Hoover,
ABBA,
Magazine,
Black Sheep,
Lou Reed & Metallica,
Delta 5,
Motorama,
Slave,
Toni Rubio,
F. McDonald,
Grandmaster Flash,
The Fire Engines,
48th St. Collective,
Patti Smith,
Con Funk Shun,
Robert Görl,
The Stooges,
Throbbing Gristle,
Aswad,
Bluetip,
Scott Walker,
The Fortunes,
the Slits, the Slits, the Slits, the Slits.
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.