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 Romania and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1967.
I was there at the first Rodriguez show in Detroit.
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 1974.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Calgary and Glasgow.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Beijing 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 1965 at the first Beefheart practice in a loft in Lancaster.
I was working on the synthesizer 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 Darondo to the rock kids.
I played it at the Roxy.
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 Adolescents. All the underground hits.
All Mad Mike tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Oppenheimer Analysis record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal jazz hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '90s.
I hear you're buying a synthesizer and a sitar 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 theremin and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought a theremin.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
the Swans,
Gang of Four,
Hoover,
The Motions,
Motorama,
Eric Copeland,
EPMD,
R.M.O.,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Grauzone,
Bang On A Can,
Bobby Byrd,
The Pretty Things,
Be Bop Deluxe,
The Sonics,
Ornette Coleman,
DeepChord presents Echospace,
Cluster,
The Count Five,
Lou Reed & John Cale,
Black Flag,
The Divine Comedy,
The Barracudas,
Outsiders,
Scan 7,
This Heat,
Basic Channel,
Lou Reed,
The Misunderstood,
Erykah Badu,
Faraquet,
Shuggie Otis,
Ossler,
Q and Not U,
The Smoke,
Johnny Clarke,
Black Sheep,
Ronnie Foster,
The Fugs,
Gichy Dan,
Drive Like Jehu,
Hashim,
The Martian,
Ice-T,
Archie Shepp,
Ten City,
Lebanon Hanover,
Metal Thangz,
Eli Mardock,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
DJ Sneak,
Minor Threat,
Warren Ellis,
Malaria!,
Terrestrial Tones,
The Cramps,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
The Music Machine,
In Retrospect,
The Mojo Men,
Ponytail,
Desert Stars,
Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin, Lalo Schifrin.
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.