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 Kitts & Nevis and from Portland.
But I was there.
I was there in 1971.
I was there at the first Selda show in Istanbul.
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 1970.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Halifax and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Stockholm 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 Bowie practice in a loft in Bromley.
I was working on the snare sounds with much patience.
I was there when Robert Palmer 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 Fania All-Stars to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Troubador.
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 Ohio Players. All the underground hits.
All Manfred Mann's Earth Band tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Fear record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal crunk 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 clarinet and a harpsichord 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 a guitar.
I hear that you and your band have sold your guitar and bought a clarinet.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Albert Ayler,
Liliput,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
Lebanon Hanover,
Kenny Larkin,
Derrick May,
Traffic Nightmare,
The Walker Brothers,
The Seeds,
The Fall,
Rufus Thomas,
Yaz,
F. McDonald,
The Mummies,
Pantytec,
Ultra Naté,
Popol Vuh,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids,
Lyres,
Wighnomy Brothers & Robag Wruhme,
Tres Demented,
Bobby Byrd,
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band,
Johnny Clarke,
Big Daddy Kane,
It's A Beautiful Day,
The Velvet Underground,
Brand Nubian,
The Fuzztones,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Pussy Galore,
Archie Shepp,
Duran Duran,
Amazonics,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
De La Soul & Jungle Brothers,
Lower 48,
Unrelated Segments,
The Flesh Eaters,
Funkadelic,
Guru Guru,
Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu,
Scrapy,
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Sparks,
The Monochrome Set,
DJ Sneak,
Bluetip,
Camron Feat. Memphis Bleek And Beenie Seigel,
Rakim,
Index,
L. Decosne,
Loose Ends,
Television Personalities,
The J.B.'s,
Wire,
New Age Steppers,
Laurel Aitken,
Depeche Mode,
Eve St. Jones,
Cluster, Cluster, Cluster, Cluster.
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.