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Cover of El Oso by Soul Coughing
Cover: El Oso

Song · Soul Coughing

“Circles” by Soul Coughing

From the album El Oso (1998)

“Circles” by Soul Coughing appears on 43 radio countdowns from 21 stations between 1998 and 2023. It was first released in 1998 on the album El Oso. Its best result is #8 on the WBER Listener Countdown 1998. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #30 alternative song of 1998, #1,302 alternative song of all time and #222 of the '90s.

43countdowns
21stations
#8best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1998–2023years charted

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Circles

Video from YouTube (Soul Coughing - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Circles" led Soul Coughing into El Oso, their third album, in 1998, and it's the New York band at its most tuneful. By then they had a sound all their own, a stew of alternative rock, jazz, samples and spoken word hung on looping basslines and Mike Doughty's deadpan delivery, and "Circles" tightens it into something you can hum. Tchad Blake produced; bass and drums spin in a hypnotic loop, keyboards shimmer around the edges and the guitars barely show up, with a whiff of trip-hop and dance-floor bounce in the mix.

It became one of the band's most successful records, a staple on alternative radio that cracked the top ten of Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, and it's still one of the songs people know them best for.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1998 91 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998 107
1998 37 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998 91
1998 49 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998 106
1998 43 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 101
1998 41 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998 100
1998 14 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998 102
1998 27 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1998 107
1998 36 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998 100
1998 62 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 103
1998 8 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1998 98
1998 62 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 103 Songs of 1998 102
1999 82 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1999 91
1999 88 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999 101
1999 75 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 104 Songs of 1999 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 926 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 202 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 841 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
2000 229 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2001 231 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 488 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 401 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2003 441 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2005 769 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 907 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 879 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 843 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 865 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 896 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 926 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 944 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 420 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 446 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 298 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 298 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 355 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 606 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 373 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 702 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 1044 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 374 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 510 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 491 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 388 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420

Charting alongside it in 1998

Best songs of 1998 →
  1. 1IntergalacticBeastie Boys
  2. 2Flagpole SittaHarvey Danger
  3. 3Celebrity SkinHole
  4. 4Inside OutEve 6
  5. 5Closing TimeSemisonic
  6. 6Father of MineEverclear

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