Confirmed: Al Green, very much alive, prefers Automatic for the People over Monster. (And Green! A betrayal to his own ancestors.) The consummate soul man has released a cover of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts†in the gospel style, flipping the song from a feeding-pigeons-alone-on-a-park-bench ballad into a warm-and-fuzzy hug for us all. It’s like he knew we needed it or something. “I could really feel the heaviness of the song and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it,†Green said in a statement. “There’s always a presence of light that can break through those times of darkness.â€Â Michael Stipe added, on behalf of R.E.M., that “this is an epic moment for us.†See, it’s true, you can always take comfort in your friends.