7 thoughts on ““Shiny Happy People.””

  3. A lot of people, including REM. From what I understand, Their recording contract required another album so to fill it up they wrote stuff like this just to annoy the record label. They were appalled when it became a hit.

  4. @countrydoc — “Out of Time” (the album this is from) is only their second for Warner Bros. (after leaving I.R.S.), so the contractual obligation thing seems pretty dubious…

  5. As Dennis Leary said, “And I also don’t go for this other thing now, with MTV being so big where you get a band that gets a hit video, and all of the sudden they think that they’re like icons and they can tell us how to feel about environmental issues and how to vote and stuff. You know what I’m talking about? Like R.E.M. “Shiny Happy People” “Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey! Pull that bus over to the side of the pretentiousness turnpike, alright!? I want everybody off the bus. I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here, ok! I represent angry gun-toting meat-eating f***ing people, alright!” Sit down and shut the f*** up Michael! Don Henley’s gonna tell me how to vote. I don’t f***ing think so, ok? I got two words for Don Henley, Joe F***ing Walsh, ok!? Thanks for calling, Don! How long’s your pony tail now? Ok!”

    (slightly cleaned up because, well, Dennis Leary)

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