Soul Coughing was a New York-based alternative rock band. The band found mo… Read Full Bio ↴Soul Coughing was a New York-based alternative rock band. The band found modest mainstream success during the mid-to-late 90's. Soul Coughing developed a devout fanbase and have garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey describes the band as "one of the most unique cult bands of the '90s ... driven by frontman M. Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry, Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip-hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism (described by Doughty as 'deep slacker jazz').

Soul Coughing,was founded by vocalist and guitarist Mike Doughty (who billed himself at the time as 'M. Doughty'), a folk singer, slam poet, and music writer.

Doughty was a doorman at the old Knitting Factory on Houston Street in New York. While working there he met sampler artist Mark De Gli Antoni, upright bass player Sebastian Steinberg, drummer Yuval Gabay, and artist David Linton. Doughty convinced them to join him in forming a new band. They played their first gig, as 'M. Doughty's Soul Coughing' at the Knitting Factory on June 15, 1992, a late-Monday night slot that Doughty cadged from his boss because nobody else wanted it. In 1993, he founded a club night called SLAW at CBGB's 313 Gallery, which was meant to emulate the popular jazz and hip hop club Giant Step, but eventually became a showcase for Soul Coughing. Posters for SLAW were headlined 'Deep Slacker Jazz' (a parody of The Who's slogan 'Maximum R&B'), which became an enduring description of the band's sound.

The band was signed within a year to Warner Brothers subsidiary Slash Records, and released three albums: Ruby Vroom (1994), Irresistible Bliss (1996), and El Oso (1998). They enjoyed minor hit singles with "Circles," "Super Bon Bon," and "Screenwriter's Blues."

The band broke up in 2000, after years of feuding over songwriting credits and publishing money. Doughty continued as a solo artist, and Gabay, Steinberg, and De Gli Antoni have been involved with other projects including a trio disc sans Doughty in 2004.

Rare Star Ball
Soul Coughing Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

To the jerked-out man that rides the cycling
Drop a rope outside the ramp the wrong pipe again
Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball
Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball, yeah
To the girl what hold to call and heated it
But did not stop bots to call the pole implements
Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball
Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball, yeah

Now the dream is stemmed I had to dam it
Now the stream is dammed I had to dam it
Now the steam is dammed I had to dam it
Some people do, some people don't
Some people do, some people don't
Some people do, some people don't
Some people do, some people don't

Come meet me at the Rare Star
Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball, yeah

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Soul Coughing's song Rare Star Ball are highly abstract, and the meaning is somewhat ambiguous. However, a careful reading of the song's lyrics and the video provides some insight into the song's possible meaning. The song foregrounds the theme of communication and the fraught nature of human connection. The first stanza introduces a "jerked-out man" who rides a cycling and is unable to reach the "wrong pipe again." Here, the cycling and the wrong pipe symbolize communication, which is further emphasized when the songwriter invites him to the "Rare Star Ball," asking him to "Come meet me."

The second stanza introduces a "girl" who "heated it" and did not "stop bots" to call the "pole implements." Again, here, we see the emphasis on the theme of communication, with the focus on the pitfalls of not communicating clearly. The Rare Star Ball seems to represent a place where people can come together, communicate, and form meaningful connections. The repetition of the final refrain, "Some people do, some people don't," underscores the idea that not everyone will be able to connect and communicate meaningfully.

In summary, the song Rare Star Ball by Soul Coughing explores the theme of communication and the challenges of human connection. The song suggests that despite these challenges, it is essential to keep trying to connect with each other, and that a place like the Rare Star Ball may provide an opportunity to do so.

Line by Line Meaning

To the jerked-out man that rides the cycling
Addressing a person who is twitchy and erratic while riding a bicycle

Drop a rope outside the ramp the wrong pipe again
Attempting to help the jerked-out man by suggesting a solution to fix their issues with the bicycle

Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball
Inviting someone to a party or event called the 'Rare Star Ball'

To the girl what hold to call and heated it
Addressing a woman who is holding onto something and preparing to make a call about it

But did not stop bots to call the pole implements
Despite not wanting to stop, the woman proceeds with making the phone call

Now the dream is stemmed I had to dam it
A dream or plan has been halted or restricted and needs to be contained or controlled

Now the stream is dammed I had to dam it
The metaphor of a blocked stream continues, emphasizing the need to contain something that was once flowing freely

Now the steam is dammed I had to dam it
Another iteration of the metaphor, this time using the image of steam being prevented from escaping and needing to be controlled

Some people do, some people don't
Acknowledging that different people have different ways of approaching things or making decisions

Come meet me at the Rare Star
Repeating the invitation to the 'Rare Star Ball' event

Come meet me at the Rare Star Ball, yeah
Re-emphasizing the invitation with enthusiasm

Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Comments from YouTube:

@Photography__Raptor

3y↑30

I yelled out for him to play this at a live show in Toronto, and he said “there’s always one at every show. Ladies and gentlemen, Japanese B-side guy!” Then after the show he signed his book of poetry for me and wrote “To Japanese B-Side guy”. I still have fond memories of this interaction, and cherish that poetry book to this day.