Watch Michael Stipe parody REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ in new episode of ‘The Simpsons’
REM frontman Michael Stipe returned to The Simpsons, as himself, for the iconic show’s 37th season finale.
The landmark 800th episode, titled ‘Irrational Treasure’, aired as part of a double bill alongside the 37th season finale, on February 15th.
In the 800th episode, the Simpsons clan left Springfield behind in order to head to Philadelphia to enter Santa’s Little Helper into the National Dog Show. It was packed with guest appearances, such as Boys II Men, Questlove, The Pitt star Noah Wyle, Kevin Bacon and Quinta Brunson.
Then, in the second episode, titled ‘Homer? A Cracker Bro?’, Homer Simpson and Kirk Van Houten team up for a business venture, which provides a perfect comedic vehicle for Stipe to sing a parody version of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, re-named ‘Everyone Kirks’.
The episode synopsis reads, “Homer and Kirk Van Houten launch a successful business selling ‘crumbless’ crackers, but Homer is forced to choose between family and fortune when Kirk’s darkest secrets are revealed.”
On the song, which plays while a dishevelled-looking Van Hoten goes about his depressing daily business, Stipe sings lines such as, “At night you snack alone”, “Don’t let yourself choke just because your mouth is dry”, and “Everybody Kirk’s, crumb times.”
Notably, this isn’t the first time that Stipe has appeared in The Simpsons. Along with his REM bandmates, he guested in a 2001 episode, ‘Homer the Moe’, which sees Homer turn his garage into a bar in protest after Moe gave his tavern a glow-up and somehow managed to trick REM into performing at Springfield’s newest watering hole.
After celebrating its 800th episode, The Simpsons extended its run as the longest-running animated and scripted series in the world. Last year, it was renewed for a further four series, which will take it through to season 40.
Additionally, The Simpsons Movie 2 is set to be released in cinemas on September 3rd, 2027, exactly 20 years after the first record-breaking film came out.
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