POLL: "Never Tear Us Apart" (INXS) vs. "Everybody Hurts" (R.E.M.)

from memory INXS were already massive from The Swing & then Listen Like Thieves even moreso
older girls I knew in primary school had full size wall posters of Michael Hutchence in 84-85

Like, it was Duran Duran, Nik Kershaw & INXS

But Kick was when INXS’ manager started hitting US college radio super hard & that was how the album ended up being massive for them in the US.

poor colin hay

i’m sure he was on someone’s wall too

(citation needed)

nah serious though prob a dude’s wall
they kinda had a lot of guy fans iirc

Think Listen Like Thieves was the breakthrough album in the UK but then Kick took it to another level

in America too

"the one thing" --> "what you need" --> "need you tonight" ~ three killer singles, three albums in a row, was massive

You're missing something from The Swing, and I hope the something is "Original Sin."

Yeah, this outcome is undoubtedly one of those "only on ILM" things. No way on Earth or any other planet do INXS have a song that is better than R.E.M. at their worst, and 'Everybody Hurts' is far from R.E.M. at their worst.

*removes earrings*

He's right about the other planets thing, I looked into it.

turri cant

I like 'Never Tear Us Apart' and Kick plenty, but pick an '80s R.E.M. album at random and I can guarantee that Kick isn't even in the same league, and Kick really is INXS at their best.

Well just these two specific songs are being compared here.

'Disappear' > 'Disappear'

'We Are The Vegetables' > 'Man On The Moon'

"Way Of The World" > "Shiny Happy People"

Eheh this thread needed a new... kick !
Btw, listening to Kick reminded me that more than all the obvious hits, I really liked « Mediate ». It’s minimalist, barely a song, almost just a coda to « Need You Tonight » but I find it more moving than their flashy/in your face stuff (I find INXS a little too ott/caricatural in general...).

No way on Earth or any other planet do INXS have a song that is better than R.E.M. at their worst, and 'Everybody Hurts' is far from R.E.M. at their worst.

lol, I love 80s/90s REM and "Everybody Hurts" is like my least favorite song after "Shiny Happy People" -- Never Tear Us Apart is totally better.

Your choices of least favourite R.E.M. songs say a lot about you!

as does your inability to understand different viewpoints

Oh, I understand that people have different viewpoints, it's just that I often find them ridiculous and couldn't possibly agree with them.

My view on INXS is that their pre (and post) Kick work is inconsistent in terms of quality. Some great tracks, but a lot of dross. They got it right for the only time on Kick, but if we're gonna rank huge '80s bands I'd rank 'em well below R.E.M., U2 and even Simple Minds.

By the time INXS released Elegantly Wasted, they were a laughing stock pretty much. R.E.M. and U2 were still thriving. Simple Minds at least had a catalogue of stunning early albums that were ripe for rediscovery, yet INXS didn't have that, and nor did they have an album as good as New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84).

As an American, the esteem in which fucking Simple Minds, of all bands, are held by you foreigners is fucking baffling.

Listen to Reel to Real Cacophony, Empires and Dance or Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call and you'll understand why.

In 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 “Need You Tonight” -> “Mediate” was standard radio practice

it ruled

It was always kind of a letdown when MTV just played “Need...” without segueing into “Mediate.”

Your choices of least favourite R.E.M. songs say a lot about you!

it says we stopped paying attention after bill berry left, and rightly so

guys don't let this good thread go down the turdy-can

"NTUA" is probably INXS's 20th best song, off maybe their 2nd or 3rd best album! I much, much prefer REM overall, but I voted for "NTUA" as it seemed fairly clear that this poll wasn't about INXS vs REM per se.

it's almost like the title of the thread told you what was being specifically compared

Early Simple Minds rules

Also <3 DJP

"Everybody Hurts" is my least favorite song on AFTP. The lyric is underdeveloped.

As opposed to "Me, my thoughts are flowers strewn" etc., which are some of my favorite damn lyrics ever.

The lyric doesn't need to say more than it already does!

Yeah, not saying it does, but I think a couple of the lines are throwaways and he could done something better. Specifically talking about "Don't throw your hand" (?) and "Sometimes everything is wrong/Now it's time to sing along."

I agree with that; the lyric walks the line between relatable “directness” and cliché, sometimes falling on the wrong side.

"now it's time to sing along" seems not only delightfully meta bc of the next section of the song but the it's moment the song betrays its awareness of how broad it is

not a great rhyme but it works

I wonder if anyone has actually found the song comforting, in a time of despair. I’m sure some have. But “everybody hurts” and “take comfort in your friends” are somewhat trite offerings of assurance/advice, to a genuinely distressed or depressed person.

(Keep in mind, I like the song!)

i hate to keep defending this song lyrically but "take comfort in your friends" may be trite or cliché but that's bc it's a tried and true method of living through depression

i just think there's more going on textually in "everybody hurts" than ppl give it credit for, r.e.m. by the early-'90s being a band that already had a curious and evasive relationship toward sincerity and saying what you mean

I agree w/that, though I also think ppl had a habit of trying to find “irony” where it may not have necessarily been intended (like with “Happy Shiny People,” which some insisted had to be sarcastic, or something).

I also agree about taking comfort in your friends (when they’re available/able to provide comfort!), and maybe it’s a virtue to express that advice so simply & directly in a song that was destined to be a big international hit.

(it’s possible the song was titled “Shiny Happy People,” I’m a grandpa all of a sudden, lol)

i agree that neither song really hits an ironic register, but they both seem pretty self-aware and are playful with that awareness instead of distancing

I had never particularly thought about EH lyrics and yes they are basic but listening to the song with that in mind, I wish I had been able to say such simple words to a dear friend who didn’t hang on, for instance... so maybe they’re not that bad.

xp - yeah, i think i was "turned off" by what I felt was "schmaltzy" - like it was R.E.M. doing "wind beneath my wings" or "bridge over troubled water" after everyone associated "bridge over troubled water" with commercials for casualty insurance or something

Yeah, not saying it does, but I think a couple of the lines are throwaways and he could done something better. Specifically talking about "Don't throw your hand" (?) and "Sometimes everything is wrong/Now it's time to sing along."

― timellison, Sunday, January 6, 2019 1:44 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"don't throw your hand" is actually pretty specific suicide reference, it's a reference to playing cards, when you just throw your hand into the middle and quit to cut your loses instead of trying to bluff while holding bad cards by continuing to bet