Meat Puppets On "Everybody Hurts"
"It's a tribute to Elvis too, on the 30th anniversary of his departure ... Puppets channeling R.E.M. channeling Elvis. Recorded in Rasputin's glass castle on Jupiter."
- Curt Kirkwood

Meat Puppets

Mike Mills On "Everybody Hurts"
"A fairly simple song musically, with a nice electric piano signature on it that's really good, and of course Jonesy did fantastic strings. If anyone is kinda 'uhhh' about it, they've probably heard it too much, that's what happens when you have songs that become big hits. When you have a song like that or 'Losing My Religion' they tend to pass on from belonging to us to belonging to the world at large."

Be sure to check out Amanda Palmer' take, and stay tuned for versions from Bodies Of Water, Elk City, and Frida Hyvönen.

"Everybody Hurts" lyrics
When the day is long and the
night, the night is yours alone,
when you're sure you've had
enough of this life, well hang on.
Don't let yourself go,
'cause everybody cries
and everybody hurts
sometimes.

Sometimes everything is wrong.
Now it's time to sing along--
When your day is night alone,
if you feel like letting go,
when you think you've had too
much of this life, well hang on.

Everybody hurts. Take comfort
in your friends.
Everybody hurts.

Don't throw your hand. Oh, no.
Don't throw your hand.
If you feel like you're alone,
no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life,
the days and nights are long,
when you think you've had too
much of this life to hang on.

Well, everybody hurts--
sometimes--
everybody cries.
everybody hurts----- sometimes.
everybody hurts, sometimes.

So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on.

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18 Comments

This is absolutely horrible. I'd rather eat my own hair rather than listen to this tripe again. What a freakin' massacre of a great song.

Posted by: grape8pe at 10/03/07 9:50 AM | Reply
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You talk about eating hair, tripe and massacres like they're bad things. I love that some people don't get the Meat Puppets. This song is hilarious.

Posted by: sam at 10/03/07 12:39 PM | Reply
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i definitely figured Everybody Hurts would be the toughest one of the bunch to cover... you're damned if you do ... sort of thing

Posted by: su at 10/03/07 3:20 PM | Reply
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if you think everybody hurts was a great song you are a huge pussy.

joshua

Posted by: joshua at 10/06/07 3:00 PM | Reply
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Well... all of the songs on the album is good or even great, being the artists own interpretation of the song. But this... eh. The same approach as R.E.M themselves... but only ten times crappier. Yeeez.

Posted by: Sara Axelsson at 10/07/07 11:42 AM | Reply
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Geez, this is the third cover I've listened to tonight, and this one sucks ass too.

Maybe you should stick to loca NYC musicians who give a shit for the next one?

Posted by: TaserBoy at 10/08/07 10:36 PM | Reply
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Not giving a shit is what makes the Kirkwood brothers great.

Posted by: sam at 10/09/07 7:57 AM | Reply
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Chris Martin. Now THERE'S a man who really, really gives a shit.

Posted by: sam at 10/09/07 8:58 AM | Reply
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Oh sweet Jesus! I hope that comment about Chris Martin is sarcastic.

Posted by: me at 10/09/07 4:39 PM | Reply
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AGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!

Posted by: chilabear at 10/09/07 6:13 PM | Reply
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AGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!

Posted by: chilabear at 10/09/07 6:13 PM | Reply
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REM shifted my paradigm for music out side of Pink Floyd, The Who, Zeppelin way back when Chronic Town came out...and then REM went on to make some of the most amazing albums.....that is until ORANGE. This is when their collective egos met and exceeded their creative abilty. Every REM album since Orange sucks horribly and if you have been listening to REM as long as I have, you at least have to admit that. REM newbies think songs like "Everybody Hurts" is classic and "speaks" to them. It is shite. The Meat Puppets, although nowhere nearly as commercially successful as REM, still have their sense of humour and have the chops to back to back it up. Go listen to any Meat Puppets albums so you can hear what happens when ego and talent always meet, shake hands and then do some silly Three Stooges routine. If it weren't for REM, I may not have come to find the Meat Puppets. The Pups could have easily choosen 7 Chinese Brothers or Gardening at Night but instead picked one of Stipe's most pompous songs ever and had some fun with it. My only recommendation at this point is to go buy every Meat Puppets record and then go buy every REM album starting with Chronic Town and stopping at Orange (or even Fables of the Reconstruction) and this cover may begin to make sense to you.
Rock on and on bitches,
Grahm

Posted by: Grahm at 10/10/07 9:34 AM | Reply
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Posted by: Grahm at 10/10/07 9:36 AM | Reply
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Frankly I was shocked to see that it was The Meat Puppets who did this cover. It's fucking awful. It sounds like some untalented kids recording onto a ghetto blaster. I don't think the premise of a "Tribute" is to take the piss or make fun of the artist you are doing a tribute to.

Posted by: Paul Bazinet at 10/18/07 11:10 PM | Reply
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I'd say that Curt & Cris are both mocking and honoring this song at the same time. That's their approach to just about everything, their own music included. For this long-time fan of both bands, it's a little fun and at the same time moving, but not very much so in either sense.

Posted by: Evan at 11/16/07 12:35 AM | Reply
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