Photo by Heather Kaplan

Contrary to numerous R.E.M. essays peppering the internet lately, they are not dead. Nevertheless our friends Coldplay, ever the band to appeal to the pulse of a grieving nation, busted out a heart-rending cover of “Everybody Hurts” at Music Midtown festival in Atlanta last night. Explained Coldplay’s Chris Martin: “One of our favorite bands of all time, R.E.M., for some crazy reason have finished — and it’s sad. So with the most respect in the world… this is just to show how much they meant to us.” Catch the video below.

Back in 2006, Martin and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe teamed up to cover Joseph Arthur’s “In The Sun”, with all proceeds benefiting victims of Hurricane Katrina. Since it’s semi-related to the topic at hand, we also have that video below.