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 Yemen and from Halifax.
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 1962 to 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Milan and Mexico City.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Lille 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 1968 at the first Can practice in a loft in Cologne.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 The Motions to the punk 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 Black Bananas. All the underground hits.
All Rekid tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Amon Düül II 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 '80s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying a marimba 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 chamberlin and bought a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a chamberlin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bobby Byrd,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
The Gap Band,
Visionaries,LMNO, T- Love & Iriscience,
Average White Band,
T. Rex,
Albert Ayler,
Sad Lovers and Giants,
Crooked Eye,
Roy Ayers,
Ultravox,
Arab on Radar,
A Certain Ratio,
The Alarm Clocks,
PIL,
Iggy Pop,
Freddie Wadling,
FM Einheit,
Drive Like Jehu,
Duran Duran,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Maurizio,
Infiniti,
Dead Boys,
The Litter,
The Buckinghams,
Buzzcocks,
Organ,
Sam Rivers,
One Last Wish,
James Chance & The Contortions,
Beasts of Bourbon,
The J.B.'s,
The Mighty Diamonds,
John Coltrane,
Soul Sonic Force,
Sister Nancy,
Thee Headcoats,
Traffic Nightmare,
Derrick Morgan,
Tomorrow,
Index,
Absolute Body Control,
Mark Hollis,
Tres Demented,
Sex Pistols,
Main Source,
Wings,
Jeru the Damaja,
Hoover,
Skarface,
Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade,
Sly & The Family Stone,
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Avey Tare,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Ice-T,
Erykah Badu,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Heaven 17,
Chris Corsano,
Marc Almond,
Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman, Colin Newman.
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.