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 Ghana and from Jakarta.
But I was there.
I was there in 1976.
I was there at the first Feelies show in Haledon.
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 1964 to 1975.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Hong Kong and Cairo.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Columbus 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 2001 at the first Tiga practice in a loft in Montreal.
I was working on the theremin sounds with much patience.
I was there when Lou Reed 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 Kenny Larkin to the electroclash 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 June of 44. All the underground hits.
All Swell Maps tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Lalo Schifrin record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal rap hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '60s cut and another box set from the '80s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a rhodes 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 arpeggiator and bought a snare.
I hear that you and your band have sold your snare and bought an arpeggiator.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Tubeway Army,
Pantaleimon,
Henry Cow,
Urselle,
Piero Umiliani,
The Red Krayola,
Marvin Gaye,
Agent Orange,
Gang Green,
Young Marble Giants,
Lonnie Liston Smith,
Bobby Hutcherson,
One Last Wish,
Stockholm Monsters,
Crooked Eye,
Albert Ayler,
Scratch Acid,
Severed Heads,
Shuggie Otis,
Hot Snakes,
Crispian St. Peters,
Selector Dub Narcotic,
Bang on a Can All-Stars,
Neu!,
Bush Tetras,
Harpers Bizarre,
Oblivians,
Mandrill,
The Gap Band,
Rotary Connection,
Althea and Donna,
Q65,
Reagan Youth,
Ohio Players,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
Joe Smooth,
Minutemen,
Little Man,
Ultramagnetic MC's,
Blake Baxter,
Heavy D & The Boyz,
Jerry's Kids,
The Golliwogs,
The Fugs,
Alison Limerick,
Larry & the Blue Notes,
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth,
Clear Light,
X-101,
Kenny Larkin,
Black Moon,
Ponytail,
Average White Band,
10cc,
New York Dolls,
Angry Samoans,
Carl Craig,
Con Funk Shun,
Josef K,
Davy DMX,
Howard Jones,
the Sonics,
Yaz,
Unwound, Unwound, Unwound, Unwound.
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.