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 Kyrgyzstan and from Edmonton.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
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 1969 to 1977.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Johannesburg and Taipei.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Manila 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 1976 at the first Soft Boys practice in a loft in Cambridge.
I was working on the arpeggiator sounds with much patience.
I was there when Captain Beefheart 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 Ajijia Myrayebe to the crunk kids.
I played it at the Spitz.
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 Warren Ellis. All the underground hits.
All The Toasters tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Pylon record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '80s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying a marimba and an organ and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Pantaleimon record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your oboe and bought a güiro.
I hear that you and your band have sold your güiro and bought an oboe.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Bush Tetras,
The Index,
Robert Hood,
Joe Finger,
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,
Animal Collective,
Negative Approach,
Pantytec,
Gong,
Spandau Ballet,
Dorothy Ashby,
Eli Mardock,
Agitation Free,
Fad Gadget,
Tom Boy,
8 Eyed Spy,
Lindisfarne,
Ultimate Spinach,
MDC,
Underground Resistance,
Slick Rick,
Lakeside,
June of 44,
Art Ensemble Of Chicago,
Todd Terry,
Rakim,
Howard Jones,
Flipper,
Second Layer,
Connie Case,
Bobby Byrd,
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog,
AZ,
ABBA,
Parry Music,
Swans,
Camron Feat. Jay Z And Juelz,
Gang Gang Dance,
The Chocolate Watch Band,
Marc Almond,
the Germs,
Kings Of Tomorrow,
The Blackbyrds,
Procol Harum,
Deadbeat,
Mandrill,
Soft Machine,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
The Doobie Brothers,
The Smiths,
Model 500,
Little Man,
Letta Mbulu,
Franke,
Skaos,
London Community Gospel Choir,
Monolake,
Barclay James Harvest,
Crime,
Wally Richardson,
The Standells, The Standells, The Standells, The Standells.
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.