Sunday Music: Everybody Hurts (Wayne’s World Edition)

90s soundtracks really were the best soundtracks. 

Wayne’s World didn’t miss. I can thank it for convincing me to (ahem, to ask my parents to) buy A Night at the Opera, for giving me the dance to “Foxey Lady,” and randomly getting “Feed My Frankenstein,” a very otherwise forgettable Alice Cooper song, stuck in my head randomly to this day. 

“Run my greasy fingers up your greasy spine.” Ick. No thank you. But also, why can’t I forget it? I have to go wash my hands, be right back…

…

Beyond the movie, the SNL bits had so much greatness too. Remember the Top 5 Misheard Lyrics bit? I still sing “There’s a bathroom on the right” and laugh every time CCR comes on. 

But one of the all timers is their parody of another song I love. Not “Nightswimming” but you can read about that one here. I’m talking about REM’s melodramatic masterpiece, “Everybody Hurts.”

Here’s the original. In case you need to get in the mood. Re: play it for at least a minute, it’s worth getting in the mood for what follows. 

Now, a contextual preamble from our spiritual leaders Wayne and Garth, before they played the(ir) video:

I think we should all just calm down for a second and listen to the soothing tones of the new REM video, “Everybody Hurts.” It’s a song about the crushing pain of just being alive, and this, what we call, the post-modern world. And the video’s about traffic problems in Los Angeles. Check it out. 

Seriously, (re)check it out. 

When you see me laughing with my brothers, there’s always a 47% chance it may be because one of us just said, “Monkeys might fly out of my butt.” 

Remember to be serious. 

But, 

Remember to laugh too. 

More Wayne’s World below. And, as my wife and I are happy to confirm, the original movie still holds up at least enough to warrant a rewatch. They are art. Plus, if you watch twice, you can focus on all the background shenanigans in it. The level of silliness is stupendous.