Synopsis

Soul Coughing perform inside a narrow circular tube, moving through a space that seems to loop back on itself. The band members appear separately as the camera follows their progress, reinforcing the song's theme of repetition and endless motion. A man walking through the same passage has his sweater gradually caught and unraveled by a protruding nail. By the end, the circular journey brings him back to the point where the unraveling began, leaving him stripped of the garment.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Circles" was released in 1998 as the lead single from Soul Coughing's third album, "El Oso."

• Two official versions of the video exist: the live-action tube video and an animated version made for Cartoon Network's "Groovies" series.

• The animated version uses Hanna-Barbera cartoon footage and was created as a promotional segment for Cartoon Network.

• The song became Soul Coughing's highest-charting single in the United States, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

• The live-action video's looping tube and unraveling sweater give a literal visual form to the song's recurring idea of going around in circles.