REM vocalist Michael Stite checks his teeth in the rear view mirror while filming the band’s new video; 1-10 at Woodlawn; Rock band REM shoot video here in San Antonio
Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-NewsAs part of a new series documenting notable community events from bygone eras, the San Antonio Office of Preservation has released a fun piece of music from the San Antonio Collective Memory Bank. In 1993, REM apparently recorded their award-winning “Everybody Hurts” music video on I-10 at the intersection of Woodlawn and Fredericksburg Road.
Personally, I previously had no idea that this seismic event had occurred. Does this particular hallway near the Westside have a certain melancholy quality that other corners of the world lack? Do people “have more pain” at this crossroads than at others? Is the human spirit a little more alive here, a little more present? From experience, I’d say it’s possible, although I can’t say for sure.
If you weren’t looking for it, you might not notice that the video was shot in San Antonio. But after reviewing the footage again with a trained eye, a road-weary San Antonian would immediately recognize the intersection. The video shows the group in a depressing traffic jam and pans across various listless faces in other retro rides. A man standing on the overpass drops the pages of a book about the stuck cars, while the captions display biblical passages. The car passengers eventually abandon their cars and drive off into nothingness. Apparently this was all an intentional nod to Federico Fellini’s film, 8 1/2.
Perhaps you were there on that fateful day when the known fatalists of the REM blocked local traffic. According to SA Preservation, the city passed an ordinance allowing the filming, and some young REM fans even skipped school to watch the video unfold.
A strange day in the history of San Antonio. Motorists were reportedly particularly ‘stressed’ because another local San Antonio freeway was simultaneously closed to film Patrick Swayze’s film Paternity.
Crew members prepare to film video of REM on 1-10 in Woodlawn on the lower level of the freeway; Rock band REM is filming a video here in San Antonio.
Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-NewsThe “Everybody Hurts” video finally swept multiple categories at the MTV Video Music Awards.
SA Preservation encourages all residents to submit their own San Antonio history and folklore online.
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