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 St Lucia and from Salvador.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Neu! show in Düsseldorf.
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 1960 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Sao Paulo and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Toronto 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 1970 at the first Onyeabor practice in a loft in Enugu.
I was working on the oboe sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie 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 Scratch Acid to the techno kids.
I played it at Cafe Wha.
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 Coldchain, Rosco P., Featuring Pusha T from Clipse & Boo-Bonic. All the underground hits.
All The Star Department tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every DNA record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal dance hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a snare 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 rhodes and bought a chamberlin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your chamberlin and bought a rhodes.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Eve St. Jones,
Magazine,
Ash Ra Tempel,
Q and Not U,
Smog,
T. Rex,
The Sonics,
The Residents,
Visage,
Blossom Toes,
Second Layer,
Oneida,
Monolake,
The Angels of Light,
Mr. Review,
Piero Umiliani,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Roger Hodgson,
The Fortunes,
Sister Nancy,
Groovy Waters,
The Beau Brummels,
The Dave Clark Five,
Lou Reed,
Livin' Joy,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Pharoah Sanders,
Metal Thangz,
Althea and Donna,
Black Bananas,
The New Christs,
New York Dolls,
Simply Red,
Audionom,
Ultravox,
A Certain Ratio,
Can,
the Bar-Kays,
Flash Fearless,
Whodini,
Y Pants,
Bauhaus,
Au Pairs,
Von Mondo,
Moebius,
Scott Walker,
Lalann,
Howard Jones,
Hasil Adkins,
Marcia Griffiths,
Procol Harum,
Roxy Music,
Ossler,
Terrestrial Tones,
Spoonie Gee,
Jeru the Damaja,
Joe Smooth,
Zero Boys,
Gichy Dan,
Byron Stingily,
Hardrive, Hardrive, Hardrive, Hardrive.
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.