When your day is long, and the night is yours alone... REM's Everybody Hurts

Some thoughts on the video to R.E.M.'s song "Everybody Hurts".
I'm more of a fan of early R.E.M. than their later stuff, but this song, from 1992's Automatic for the People, stands out in their canon as one of their most moving.

The video's premise is simple: a traffic jam on a freeway traps people in their cars. It reminds me of Los Angeles, but it could be anywhere in the United States.

Because it's a showcase for Stipe's vocals, it doesn't need a lot of fancy visuals, which would only distract from the song. A rolling camera peers in at each car's occupants, and although they are silent, we can read what they're thinking in subtitles. Some of the passengers are obviously sick of each other -- one young boy thinks "Stop singing." as his grandfather sings away, oblivious. Another child thinks, "I'll talk when I want to." It's not so much "Hell is other people," as "Hell is other adults."

There's also a nod to other cultures, which I like. One car's driver thinks, "Vamos a perder toda nuestra dignidad", or, "We are going to lose all our dignity." His colleague thinks, "No tenemos mas tiempo." -- "We have nothing but time."

The glimpses into their lives seem to point to one common denominator: they're lost people who need comforting.

Meanwhile, Peter Buck and Bill Berry hang about like a couple of sullen CIA recruiters, and Michael Stipe tries not to look too silly in a hat that's a hangover from '80s fashion.

Just when you think nothing's going to happen, Stipe breaks out of his reverie and starts singing. It's a startlingly effective little trick that rewards you for being patient four minutes into the video.

Beautifully underplayed, and a great listen.