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Soul Coughing — Screenwriter's Blues
Album: Ruby Vroom
Avg rating:
6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 592









Released: 1994
Length: 5:03
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Exits to freeways twisted like knots on the fingers
Jewels cleaving skin between breasts

Your Cadillac breathes four hundred horses over blue lines
You are going to Reseda to make love to a model from Ohio whose real name you don't know
You spin like the Cadillac was overturning down a cliff on television
And the radio is on
And the radio man is speaking
And the radio man says women were a curse
So men built Paramount Studios
And men built Columbia Studios
And men built Los Angeles

It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles
It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles

And the radio man says, "It is a beautiful night out there"
And the radio man says, "Rock 'n' roll lives"
And the radio man says, "It is a beautiful night out there in Los Angeles"
You live in Los Angeles, and you are going to Reseda
We are all in some way or another going to Reseda someday to die
And the radio man laughs because the radio man fucks a model, too

Gone savage for teenagers with automatic weapons and boundless love
Gone savage for teenagers who are aesthetically pleasing, in other words, fly
Los Angeles beckons the teenagers to come to her on buses
Los Angeles loves love

It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles
It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles

I am going to Los Angeles to build a screenplay about lovers who murder each other
I am going to Los Angeles to see my own name on a screen, five feet long and luminous
As the radio man says, "It is 5 A.M., and the sun has charred the other side of the world and come back to us
And painted the smoke over our heads an imperial violet"

It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles
It is 5 A.M., and you are listening to Los Angeles

You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
You are listening
To Los Angeles
Comments (274)add comment
love to hear any soul coughing - but this one is a surprise to hear on RP when there are so many others that i'd have thought the powers-that-be would have found much more pleasing for the mix. no matter, i'll take it. 

please play more soul coughing or his solo stuff.
Sounds like a pretentious white rich kid, first year of community college, reading bad pseudo-poetry in the basement coffee house, in the vain hopes of getting into a groping session with the barrista at the end of the evening, because he (falsely) believes that he is the shit, when in reality he's just really shitty.
This song totally makes me want to move to L.A. NOT!!! Go Giants!!
I think he's channeling Pere Ubu's Dave Thomas.
shutter wrote:
Isn't this the guy who does the narration in Poe's "Track 18" from Haunted?
I was thinking this reminds me of Poe's brother, who narrated "Hey Baby" - Spoken Version. Like the other narrated song, this blows. Solid "1".
pannaramma wrote:
No No don't make me go to Reseda! For a second I thought Dan Ackroyd was doing a William Shatner thing.
That's it! I swear it sounds like Dan. Big time. Dragnet style.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Putting bad writing over music doesn't make the writing any better, more interesting, or more worth listening to.
trekhead wrote:
Dan Ackrrrroyd and Jimmm Carrrrey eating Cake.
Wow. It is sort of intense. But if I have to decide whether to love it or hate it...well. God it really is awful, but I guess I like it in a bizarre sort of way. It is unapologetically whatever it is.
savoyard wrote:
Wow, He makes LA sound almost as horrible as it really is....
You have no idea. No really..... zero idea. Indiana?
Only 87 people gave this a 1. The rest made typos.
ploafmaster wrote:
You can see from the ratings distribution that this is largely a love-it-or-hate-it kinda song. I'm on the 8 side of things here :-)

me too. read a nice summary of soul coughing on AMG. good insight to M Doughty from his background, etc.
Cool
No No don't make me go to Reseda! For a second I thought Dan Ackroyd was doing a William Shatner thing.
drekar wrote:
You either love it or hate it. I, for one, love it.
Hate it.
You can see from the ratings distribution that this is largely a love-it-or-hate-it kinda song. I'm on the 8 side of things here :-)
You either love it or hate it. I, for one, love it.
tenacious_v wrote:
holy shite that song really sucks. I think I'd rather take a cheese grater to my fore-head than endure another session....
Hey, don't be stingy with that cheese grater! I need it, too!!! This is awful.
Bought it on iTunes. Every time I listen to it (typically on way to workout at 5:00am) I like it more.
drtjdel wrote:
That'll cost you extra.
I'll gladly pay if it means I don't have to listen to it again.....by the way, that sure does look like Ms. Crabtree!!! good eye Alfalfa!
tenacious_v wrote:
holy shite that song really sucks. I think I'd rather take a cheese grater to my fore-head than endure another session....
That'll cost you extra.
holy shite that song really sucks. I think I'd rather take a cheese grater to my fore-head than endure another session....
i will say that this was overplayed on the radio station i listened to when it came out (well before sheep go to heaven as suggested by someone below), but eventually someone i knew bought the album....in the context of the album this song works very well and as a whole the album is excellent. but i can feel for people who think that this one song thrown in the mix is a little weird....
This song is so bad I had to stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning, stop lissssssssning,
Shite!
Is that Miss Crabtree in the space helmet?
I'm a BIG fan of really well done spoken-word songs, this being one of them. Solid 8.
savoyard wrote:
Wow, He makes LA sound almost as horrible as it really is....
Not so much horrible, but as surreal as it really is.
One of my favorite Soul Coughing/M Doughty songs... True Dreams of Wichita followed by this song on Ruby Vroom is a great combo. Thanks for playing this RP! *cheers*
Los Angeles loves, love. Such a fitting line for the Deathstar.
in losssssss angelessssssssssssss
Isn't this the guy who does the narration in Poe's "Track 18" from Haunted?
God I love Doughty. He's so "not anybody else."
Wow, He makes LA sound almost as horrible as it really is....
Govi wrote:
"We are all going to Reseda." One of the better existential musical phrases. I always think this is Dan Akroyd singing. Doughty has that Chicago twang down, whether it's intentional or accidental. "Lisssssstening"
Dan Ackrrrroyd and Jimmm Carrrrey eating Cake.
Reminds me of "cake" ? anyone ? Sheep go to heaven
Normally I wonder why people whine about repetitive songs, but in this case ... I'm the one whining. It doesn't work for me - I get what they're trying to do, and I dig all the John Cage affectations, but it really didn't work for me.
"We are all going to Reseda." One of the better existential musical phrases. I always think this is Dan Akroyd singing. Doughty has that Chicago twang down, whether it's intentional or accidental. "Lisssssstening"
Honestly, normally I would hate this... but i gotta say, this is a primo song!
Darrooon wrote:
Uh, hey, is this what Beatniks used to sound like?
No, smart went crazy, it didn't go dumb! This track so precious and annoying!
justlistening wrote:
Mr. Doughty is a bit of a one note pony.
Funny, I think Doughty's solo work is great, but I've never been able to get into Soul Coughing.
Uh, hey, is this what Beatniks used to sound like?
what is this tripe? skip track plz! kkthx
donmatthews wrote:
An amazing 13% think it deserves a 1-rating. That must be a record, don't you think?
Look at the Corrs cover version of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams (click here) -- 60% gave that turkey a "1."
and the RadioWoman says "Shut the F*** up and play the music!"
CarpePotus wrote:
The rating distribution for this song has such a lovely double peak... quite unlike the standard single seven wave. I'm not sure if I'm on the peak or the valley with this one.
An amazing 13% think it deserves a 1-rating. That must be a record, don't you think?
The rating distribution for this song has such a lovely double peak... quite unlike the standard single seven wave. I'm not sure if I'm on the peak or the valley with this one.
majorowl wrote:
Almost sounds like the voice of Dan Aykroyd...
Absolutely. Now he just needs to add "We're on a mission from God (in Los Angeles)!" I also agree with the other poster. Less talk, more singing. This should be followed by Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." or the theme from Moonlighting (only positive songs about L.A. that I can think of at the moment).
This sounds like the results of a horriffic recombinant-DNA experiment involving the poetry genes of Gil Scott Herron. . . . it is 5 am and you are listening to Los Angeles And the radioman says The Revolution will not be televised The Revolution will not be televised The Revolution will be live!
umm...how about some Ken Nordine??
Interesting ... I'll have to hear it a few more times.
Brilliant.
Dylan76 wrote:
This guy was so much better with Soul Coughing.
Yeah. He just needed a lifestyle change. It was the drugs that made the music you heard in Soul Coughing. And now you're hearing a man without the drugs. I still enjoy his recent music. It just doesn't stand out that much.
ocsike wrote:
This is sooo bad! There is no music, no singing just that freaky rythm.
Man is that a narrow definition of music.
actually, it's 11:18am and i'm no longer listening.
Reseda is a funny place to be going, btw... like going to "hoboken" or such nonsense... spoken--word---poetry.... "We are all going to reseda in one way or another... to die"
Now this. This. This is pretty cool. Woke me up after those last two songs.
The two tracks played here are the best on the CD. The rest of the CD is pretty bad. Mr. Doughty is a bit of a one note pony. Gets tired very quickly.
Dan Akroyd??
The Bluesss... Brotherrrrrs. 7.
This sucks.
I like it... ...and the radio man says....
I still don't get this song, I mean interesting story... but the music just sucks.
Every time I hear it I have to nudge it up a bit higher.
thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Love this song. Reminds me of Was/Not Was: "...needless to say, the party broke up..." Nostalgia.
Good stuff.
ocsike wrote:
This is sooo bad! There is no music, no singing just that freaky rythm.
and ya just gotta love that "freaky rhythm"
I wish I was listening to Los Angeles rather than this.
Squirrel wrote:
I want to hate this, but I find it oddly compelling . . .
Hey--me too!
Is this ironical intentionally awful open-mike poetry satire? If so, then bravo. Otherwise, please, sweet Jesus, make it stop. Headphones ripped from my head, but not fast enough to stop your horseshit from penetrating my prefrontal lobe and making me vomit.
webslinger48 wrote:
Following Grant Lee Buffalo with this is like breaking up with Catherine Zeta Jones to date Bea Arthur. Not recommended.
I disagree, but damn that was funny.
loud_family_fan wrote:
YES! My thoughts exactly. It is 2:40 and I am listening to crap.
But are you also, in some way or another, going to Reseda someday?
Radioman scares me.
This is so deeeeep. I think.
isaiahhahner wrote:
this song sucks. more music less talking please.
YES! My thoughts exactly. It is 2:40 and I am listening to crap.
Almost sounds like the voice of Dan Aykroyd...
Reminds me why I'm FROM LA..... about as far from LA as I can get....
I dig this. One of the first things I heard on RP (several years ago now!) that really made me say, "Wow, this is something really different from what I've heard before." And definitely channeling Dan Akroyd.
ziggytrix wrote:
Anyone else think Mike Doughty sounds just like Elwood Blues (Dan Akroyd)?
ABSOLUTELY! I was just going to make that observation. I don't know why, but I kind of like this - kind of
He does remind me of Elwood Blues. Also of Cake (Short Skirt Long Jacket). Maybe I enjoyed it just for the local culture references.
Jeez...I escaped LA and the San Fernando Valley in '89 and ended up in Cleveland....this song is a flashback for me worthy of Proust's madelaines.
Self-congratulatory simpleton babbles shallow Vogon poetry into the headphones of millions (or is it thousands? hundreds? dozens?) while people like me (who can't stand this drivel) avoid the local coffeeshop's stilted lilted open-mike night, also known as Soul Coughing's crap.
this song sucks. more music less talking please.
This is sooo bad! There is no music, no singing just that freaky rythm.
This guy was so much better with Soul Coughing.
Anyone else think Mike Doughty sounds just like Elwood Blues (Dan Akroyd)?
Not me. I find it quite easy to hate. Please make it stop. Squirrel wrote:
I want to hate this, but I find it oddly compelling . . .
It's distracting me from my work - but I don't care.
I want to hate this, but I find it oddly compelling . . .
I believe that's what the dotted lines on the Playlist page denote - beginning and ending of pre-planned "blocks". I don't mind in the least - I hear so much stuff on here that I've never heard before!
Protoguy wrote:
Its what makes Radio Paradise interesting, you never know what is next.
That's not necessarily true. They seem to play the same segments with the same songs on occasion. I've noticed this quite a bit lately.
Dog help me ... I love this shit!
Its what makes Radio Paradise interesting, you never know what is next.
I don't care about the music, but the lyrics are witty and funny and all-too true.
webslinger48 wrote:
Hearing this song is like having your skin slowly peeled off by a cheese grater. Following Grant Lee Buffalo with this is like breaking up with Catherine Zeta Jones to date Bea Arthur. Not recommended.
I dunno. I kind of like this song.
Wacky and fun...and the Reseda line is all too true.
Please don't come to Los Angeles, Soul-coughing Guy. Ouch.
Hearing this song is like having your skin slowly peeled off by a cheese grater. Following Grant Lee Buffalo with this is like breaking up with Catherine Zeta Jones to date Bea Arthur. Not recommended.
Not my cuppa at all....ugh
Doubleyoo. Tee. Eff. This is screwed up, but... not bad somehow...
This is perfect! If you've ever been to LA sprawl this song evokes it exactly!
This is awful.
thatslongformud wrote:
We are all in one way or another going to Reseda
My sentiments exactly.
We are all in one way or another going to Reseda
Yes! True musical poetry!
ctdfalconer wrote:
It's my belief that these fellows are not "ghey," but it is an absolute certainty that you are a neanderthal.
Back off prairie dog. Remember, you're the one hitting me over the head with a hammer. LOL. As I said before, 'GUH-HEYNESS' personified.
love this song.
what a waste of recording studio time.... No meat, all potatoes. :(
Outstanding!
litl_granger wrote:
I think this song gets better the closer it is played to 5 a.m.
Especially if I'm scheduled to wake up at 7:00!
I think this song gets better the closer it is played to 5 a.m.
A strange tune, not for everyone, but hearing stuff like this is why I love RP.
palphd wrote:
Eh. Soul Coughing, Cake, and Dan Akroyd... All painfully GHEY.
Ghey? Your player has a stop button, pal. Regardless of your musical tastes, one-word dismissals hardly qualify as considered critiques, which is really the only thing you could possibly have provided to make yourself appear at least semi-literate. It's my belief that these fellows are not "ghey," but it is an absolute certainty that you are a neanderthal.
anniebear wrote:
Yikes this is a shitty, misogynistic pile of stink.
How does that work? F-word=misogyny?
I used to be a screenwriter who lived and worked in Los Angeles and I both love and hate this song. It nails the meaninglessness, empty dreams and self-loathing of that time. Does that mean I should give it a 5? I guess so.
I never cared for this song
Like a white version of the Lost Poets of Harlem or Ken Nordine. Good stuff. Merci a grace!