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 Tanzania and from Manila.
But I was there.
I was there in 1962.
I was there at the first Guess Who show in Winnipeg.
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 1961 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Jakarta and New York.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Seoul 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 Lewis practice in a loft in Vancouver.
I was working on the synthesizer sounds with much patience.
I was there when Michael McDonald 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 Ultra Naté to the techno kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Alice Coltrane. All the underground hits.
All Bobby Byrd tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Mandrill record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal techno hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying an arpeggiator and a güiro 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 synthesizer and bought an oboe.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a synthesizer.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
The American Breed,
Gichy Dan,
Soft Machine,
Skriet,
The Techniques,
Tres Demented,
B.T. Express,
Spoonie Gee,
Flamin' Groovies,
The Five Americans,
Hasil Adkins,
Khruangbin,
the Germs,
Cecil Taylor,
Public Enemy,
Monolake,
Second Layer,
Lee Hazlewood,
Bobby Byrd,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Fatback Band,
June of 44,
The Fire Engines,
The Cowsills,
Lindisfarne,
Girls At Our Best!,
The Mojo Men,
Robert Hood,
The Gladiators,
The Invisible,
Easy Going,
A Certain Ratio,
The Jesus and Mary Chain,
Funky Four + One,
Radiohead,
Camberwell Now,
Siglo XX,
Big Daddy Kane,
Sexual Harrassment,
Sticky Fingaz feat. Raekwon,
The Modern Lovers,
Vladislav Delay,
Hardrive,
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo,
Brick,
Steve Hackett,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
New York Dolls,
Deepchord,
Youth Brigade,
Tim Buckley,
Wolf Eyes,
Pantytec,
Sly & The Family Stone,
Patti Smith,
John Lydon,
the Association,
Iggy Pop,
The Young Rascals,
CMW,
Ken Boothe,
Jimmy McGriff,
Black Pus, Black Pus, Black Pus, Black Pus.
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.