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 Oman and from Beijing.
But I was there.
I was there in 1968.
I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.
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 1978.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Mexico City and Bremen.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school London 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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the harpsichord sounds with much patience.
I was there when Tom Verlaine 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 Bob Dylan to the punk kids.
I played it at the Astoria.
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 Joey Negro. All the underground hits.
All The Move tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every John Lydon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal funk 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 spring reverb and an arpeggiator 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 clarinet and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Erasure,
L. Decosne,
Don Cherry,
Lalann,
Crooked Eye,
Interpol,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Yazoo,
Camberwell Now,
Brass Construction,
Rhythm & Sound,
Yaz,
Basic Channel,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Quadrant,
Joy Division,
Donald Byrd,
Soul II Soul,
Bobby Byrd,
Clear Light,
Gerry Rafferty,
Qualms,
Audionom,
Agitation Free,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Jerry Gold Smith,
Bluetip,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Roger Hodgson,
Dave Gahan,
Gang Starr,
Mantronix,
The Litter,
Curtis Mayfield,
Pagans,
the Soft Cell,
Pierre Henry,
Black Pus,
A Certain Ratio,
Harpers Bizarre,
Kayak,
A Flock of Seagulls,
The Toasters,
Ten City,
Minnie Riperton,
Massinfluence,
Lyres,
Gregory Isaacs,
The Fugs,
Tubeway Army,
Gil Scott Heron,
Soft Machine,
Franke,
The Leaves,
Funky Four + One,
Nik Kershaw,
Lafayette Afro Rock Band,
Quantec,
Letta Mbulu,
Reagan Youth,
Jerry's Kids,
Parry Music, Parry Music, Parry Music, Parry Music.
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.