Soul Coughing - Circles

What this video is

Released September 29, 1998, 'Circles' arrived at the tail end of the alternative rock boom that MTV had cultivated throughout the decade. Soul Coughing — rooted in the New York City Knitting Factory experimental underground — represented a hybrid strain of the era: M. Doughty's stream-of-consciousness spoken-word delivery atop sampler-driven jazz-funk grooves and drum-and-bass rhythms. 'Circles' became their…

Why it matters

A landmark of the 'deep slacker jazz' micro-genre Soul Coughing pioneered: fusing NYC avant-garde sampling, jazz improvisation, hip-hop cadence, and drum-and-bass production into commercially accessible alternative rock. 'Circles' represents the band's most mainstream distillation of this hybrid,…

The director

Chris Applebaum (b. 1970, Los Angeles) studied film at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, where he began directing indie rock videos. He became the youngest director signed to Satellite Films (Propaganda division) at age 21, ultimately directing over 250 music…