10 Best Music Videos Of The 90s
8. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
Another video from 1993, Everybody Hurts is one of the most famous songs of the '90s. Its video, directed by Jake Scott, has itself become a beloved and enduring promo, inspired in turn by the opening montage of Felini's 8 1/2.
The video was filmed along the double deck portion of the I-10, near the I-35 interchange in San Antonio, Texas. It depicts a traffic jam with hundreds of cars in a row. Overhead, a man is tearing pages from a book and letting them fall to the road below. There are subtitles on screen, reading 'Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,' and 'Those that sow in tears will reap in joy.'
The lyrics of the song were deliberately straightforward, as explained by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. He says that it was straightforward because it was aimed at teenagers. It would be used in the film of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Buck, though not having seen it, commented that the idea that High School was a portal to hell was very apt, in his opinion.
Michael Stipe appears in the video though in a largely silent role until the third act, when he begins to sing Hold On. After this, the people in the cars get out and start to walk away together, eventually disappearing before a newscast explaining how all are baffled by what has happened. Perhaps a depiction of music bringing people together, or shared pain carrying people away, the video is both haunting and beautiful.