When the Meat Puppets released their first, eponymous album on CD, they generously included, as often happened during that era, a bunch of bonus tracks, such as, ahem, “Meat Puppets,” which had appeared on the 1981 Light Bulb “emergency cassette” compilation, and “H-Elenore,” which came from the Keats Rides a Harley comp from Happy Squid Records that also featured a track from Gun Club.

Tucked in there without much fanfare was a rendition of Fred Neil’s song, which he first recorded in 1966, of “Everybody’s Talkin’.” The song became far more famous after the release of Midnight Cowboy, which included a cover of the song that helped put Harry Nilsson on the map. That version was a palpable hit, and if you think you can hum the song from memory, it’s probably Nilsson’s version that you know.
 

 
The provenance of the Meat Puppets’ cover of “Everybody’s Talkin’” is unknown, at least by me, but I do know they sometimes played it at concerts during the 1980s. To be candid, they pretty much dismantle the fucker—I suspect satirical intent. You be the judge.