Soul Coughing - Soundtrack To Mary

What this video is

Released in July 1996 as a single from Soul Coughing's second album Irresistible Bliss (Slash/Warner Bros.), 'Soundtrack To Mary' arrived at the peak of mid-90s alternative radio's grip on mainstream culture. Soul Coughing occupied a singular niche: described by AllMusic as 'one of the most unique cult bands of the 90s,' their sound fused improvisational jazz, oddball sampling, hip-hop textures, and noisy…

Why it matters

Soul Coughing's hybrid genre — jazz-inflected alternative rock with hip-hop sampling and spoken-word poetry — was virtually without peer in the mid-90s mainstream. 'Soundtrack To Mary' served as an accessible entry point into that sound, receiving selective alternative radio airplay alongside…

The director

John Flansburgh (b. May 6, 1960, Lincoln, MA) is co-founder of They Might Be Giants and a practiced music video director; he earned a BFA from Pratt Institute and has directed videos for Harvey Danger, Frank Black, Ben Folds Five, and Soul Coughing, in…