Quasi is an indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993, consisting … Read Full Bio ↴Quasi is an indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993, consisting of the ex-husband and wife team of Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, roxichord, various keyboards) and Janet Weiss (vocals and drums). In 2007, bassist Joanna Bolme, of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, who had toured with Quasi in 2006, became an official member of the band; she left the band in 2011.

In 1990, Coomes, Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat. The band released two self-released cassettes and one 7" single before dissolving in 1993. Quasi started recording as a duo in 1993. They played with various additional musicians in early live appearances, but eventually settled on playing live as a duo as well. They self-recorded and self-released a cassette and a CD in 1993. They recorded R&B Transmogrification in the Portland band Pond's basement recording studio and released it on Up Records in 1997. They released two more albums with Up: Featuring "Birds" in 1998 and Field Studies in 1999; both albums were recorded at Jackpot Studios in Portland, Oregon.

In 1998 and 1999 they toured the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan opening for and serving as the backup band for Elliott Smith (who Coomes had played with in Heatmiser) as well as touring on their own in the U.S. and Europe. In 2001 They home-recorded The Sword of God and released it on Touch & Go. Quasi had been somewhat political since its inception, but their opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq showed through in a straight-forward way with the release of Hot Shit! in 2003, particularly in the songs "White Devil's Dream" and "Master and Dog." When the Going Gets Dark followed in 2006, released on Touch & Go in the U.S. and Domino Records in Europe, as with Hot Shit!.

In Spring 2009, the band announced that they had signed to the Kill Rock Stars label, and were due to release their already recorded next album in the latter half of the year. That album, entitled American Gong, was released February 23, 2010 to generally favorable reviews. It was their first and only album to feature third member Joanna Bolme. Following a tour of Japan, Europe, and the United States in support of the full length, Bolme left the band. A duo again, Sam and Janet are recording material for a new album.

The Star You Left Behind
Quasi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now you are more free
Than you really want to be.
No one holds you in place,
& you're drifting off in space.

& the stars are all you see-
Far away as they can be.
& the star you left behind

Gets dimmer all the time.

& the problems that you made
Eventually will fade.
& the work that you have done
Seems better when you're gone.

Far away from everything,
Far away from everywhere;

No one hears you sing,
No one knows you care.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Quasi's song, The Star You Left Behind, portray a sense of detachment and freedom that can be both liberating and disheartening. The first lines of the song suggest that the subject of the song, now free from any restraints, may not be entirely comfortable with their newfound freedom. The lyrics "Now you are more free, than you really want to be" imply that while freedom may have been sought after, it may not be exactly what was expected or wanted. This can be a common human experience when we realize the responsibilities that come with liberty.

The song continues to describe the feeling of detachment from the world around us. As the star drifts off into space, it becomes increasingly isolated from everything it has known. Far away from everything and everyone, the star is surrounded only by the stars in the sky, which are "as far away as they can be." This isolation can be liberating, but it can also leave us feeling disconnected and alone.

The last lines of the song suggest that once we are gone, the problems we once faced will fade away, and the work we have done will seem more significant. The song's title, The Star You Left Behind, implies that sometimes, we must leave things behind to move forward, but doing so can be both beautiful and painful. The closing lyrics of the song, "No one hears you sing, No one knows you care," convey a sense of feeling unheard and unnoticed, which is a common experience in modern society.

Line by Line Meaning

Now you are more free
You have attained more freedom than you actually desired.

Than you really want to be.
You weren't looking for this much freedom, it's more than what you craved.

No one holds you in place,
Nobody is controlling you or keeping you in check.

& you're drifting off in space.
You are wandering aimlessly like a person lost in space.

& the stars are all you see-
All that you can observe are the stars which are far away in the galaxy.

Far away as they can be.
The stars are located thousands of light-years away from us.

& the star you left behind
The person you left behind when you went away.

Gets dimmer all the time.
The person you once knew is disappearing from your memory.

& the problems that you made
The complications and difficulties that you created in your life.

Eventually will fade.
These problems that you accumulated in the past will dissipate over time.

& the work that you have done
The effort that you've put in over the years.