''Irresistible Bliss'' is the second studio album by the American electronic music group

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed a d ...

, released in 1996. The band initially planned for

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arct ...

, producer of their first album ''

Ruby Vroom ''Ruby Vroom'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Soul Coughing, released in 1994. The album's sound is a mixture of sample-based tunes (loops of Raymond Scott's " Powerhouse" on "Bus to Beelzebub", Toots and the Maytals, Howlin' Wol ...

'', to produce the album, but the death of a family member in a car accident caused Blake to take a hiatus. Over the objections of his bandmates and his record label,

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative rock, alternative music, befor ...

/Warner Bros., frontman Mike Doughty (then billed as "M. Doughty") hired producer

David Kahne David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive. Professional career Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...

(

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late ' ...

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...

Sublime Sublime may refer to: Entertainment * SuBLime, a comic imprint of Viz Media for BL manga * Sublime (band), an American ska punk band ** ''Sublime'' (album), 1996 * ''Sublime'' (film), a 2007 horror film * SubLime FM, a Dutch radio station dedic ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...

); he was intent on following up the wild sonics of ''

'' with a tightly wound, trembly, New Wave–inspired record. The tracking, at Manhattan's

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

recording studio, was complete in eleven days, and Doughty was jubilant at the results. Doughty tapped

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...

to produce the tune "Unmarked Helicopters" for ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'' soundtrack ''

Songs in the Key of X ''Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files'' is a 1996 compilation album released in association with the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The album contained a mixture of songs that were either fea ...

''. All of ''Irresistible Bliss''s songs were produced by Kahne, except tracks 2 and 6 (by Fisk) and track 12 by the band themselves. The mixing process split the tracks between three mixers: Kahne, Chris Shaw, and ''Ruby'' producer

, who intervened when bass player

Sebastian Steinberg Sebastian Steinberg (born February 20, 1959) is an American bass player, best known for his work in the band Soul Coughing. Biography Steinberg played with Soul Coughing throughout the band's entire history, from 1992 to 2000. In 2001, Steinberg ...

briefly quit the band. ''Irresistible Bliss'' yielded a hit single for Soul Coughing, "

Super Bon Bon ''Irresistible Bliss'' is the second studio album by the American electronic music group Soul Coughing, released in 1996. The band initially planned for Tchad Blake, producer of their first album ''Ruby Vroom'', to produce the album, but the death ...

." "Soft Serve" and "Soundtrack to Mary" also received some selective radio airplay.

Track listing

All songs by Doughty/Soul Coughing. #"Super Bon Bon" – 3:31 #"Soft Serve" – 3:12 #"White Girl" – 2:37 #"Soundtrack to Mary" – 3:06 #"Lazybones" – 4:48 #"4 Out of 5" – 3:12 #"Paint" – 2:55 #"Disseminated" – 2:41 #"Collapse" – 3:06 #"Sleepless" – 4:50 #"The Idiot Kings" – 3:57 #"How Many Cans?" – 4:24 #"Lemon Lime" (Japanese release bonus track) #"Blow My Only" (Japanese release bonus track) Additional CD with Japanese release #"Super Bon Bon" (

Propellerheads Propellerheads were an English electronic music duo, formed in 1995 in Bath and consisting of Will White and Alex Gifford. History Their first release was an EP named ''Dive!'', released in 1996 through the independent label Wall of Sound. ...

Mezzanine Remix) #"Mr. Bitterness" (live) #"White Girl" (live) #"Lazybones" (live) #"Super Bon Bon" (Kick Dub Mix)

Personnel

Mike Doughty Michael Ross Doughty ( ; born June 10, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and author. He founded the band Soul Coughing in 1992, and as of '' The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns'' (2016), has released 18 studio albums, live albums, and ...

(billed as "M. Doughty") –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, backing vocals,

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Mark de Gli Antoni Mark degli Antoni (sometimes credited as Mark De Gli Antoni) is an American composer, known for his work as co-founder and keyboard sampler for the band Soul Coughing from 1992 to 2000.Huey, Steve.Soul Coughing - Biography, AllMusic.com. Since lea ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, programming *Yuval Gabay –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, programming

Appearances in other media

* "Super Bon Bon" appeared in the racing video game ''

Gran Turismo 2 ''Gran Turismo 2'' is a 1999 racing game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to '' Gran Turismo''. It was well-received critically and financially, shipping 1.71&nbs ...

'' in 1999. Subsequently it was used in a car theft scene in the fifth-season finale of '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. It is briefly featured in ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' episode "

Long Term Parking "Long Term Parking" is the 64th episode of the HBO original series ''The Sopranos'' and the 12th of the show's fifth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on May 23, 2004. Starring * James Gandolfin ...

". It was played in season 4 episode 8 of ABC's ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'', and season 6 episode 2 of NBC's ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

''. It was also featured on ESPN & Netflix' 2020 docuseries '' The Last Dance''. * "Disseminated" was used in a late summer 2006 ad campaign for the

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

. The song notably opens with the unflattering lines "The goat chewed up, once a tin can / The goat shat out, was a Ford sedan."

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Soul Coughing albums Albums produced by David Kahne Albums produced by Steve Fisk Slash Records albums