R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts

What this video is

Released in April 1993 as the third single from R.E.M.'s landmark eighth album Automatic for the People (1992), 'Everybody Hurts' arrived at the apex of alternative rock's commercial breakthrough and peak MTV viewership. The song was written by drummer Bill Berry as an explicit anti-suicide anthem intended to reach teenagers in crisis. The video's humanitarian reach extended beyond music: in 1995, The Samaritans…

Why it matters

Represents the pinnacle of concept-driven, cinematically authored music video production in the early-1990s MTV golden age. Director Jake Scott's approach — uniting a single-location realist narrative, arthouse film homage, typographic interior-monologue, and restrained performance — established a…

The director

Jake Scott is a British music video and commercial director, son of filmmaker Ridley Scott. Raised in London, he developed an early obsession with punk and goth culture. Prior to 'Everybody Hurts' he had directed videos for Glenn Frey, Cypress Hill, and k.d.…