This is a song that I never intended to cover. Partly because I wasn't overly fond of it but mostly because I could never figure out how to play the riff on guitar.
But discovering the song is in open G tuning meant I was able to play the riff and have it sound pretty much exactly as it does on the record, so I decided to do the cover as it would never be a particularly complex cover to work on, it is essentially just drums, bass guitar and electric guitar, so it didn't take long to complete.
Learning the bass parts was fun because Mike Mills wrote a really lively bass line for this song which competes with Peter's guitar for attention. I don't think I've ever played notes as far up the fretboard as on this song!
As for the song, I'm still not a fan, except for the gorgeous guitar intro. The song is a bit too chaotic for me, and not in a good way. It just feels like all the individual parts are competing for attention in a race to get to the finish as soon as possible. Though the song is a live favourite for its erratic vocal performance by Stipe, it's not a song I enjoy listening to live as their efforts just come across as all noise and very little melody. But still, I'm pleased with the cover and enjoyed working on it.
