Mediate
by INXS

Album: Kick (1987)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Mediate" is best known as the song that comes on after "Need You Tonight" in the video and on the Kick album. The song is a poem INXS keyboard player/guitarist Andrew Farriss came up with and set to music. The entire lyric is words and phrases that end in "-ate" ("fabricate," "liberate," "atomic fate"...). We counted 50 different "ate" words.
  • At the suggestion of producer Chris Thomas, the band decided to segue "Need You Tonight" into "Mediate" when they realized both songs were at the same tempo. They recorded them back-to-back, so it seemed ordained.

    There is a rich tradition of song segues, with The Beatles ("Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" into "With A Little Help From My Friends") and Led Zeppelin ("Heartbreaker" into "Livin' Lovin' Maid (she's just a woman)") among the acts that have done it.
  • The video shows lead singer Michael Hutchence revealing the lyrics on cue cards, tossing each one aside as the next line comes in. This is an homage to the Bob Dylan video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues," which he made in 1965 with director D.A. Pennebaker.

    This video was combined with the "Need You Tonight" video and aired together (they are separated on YouTube because more views = more $). They were both shot by Richard Lowenstein, a fellow Australian who cast Hutchence in his 1986 movie Dogs In Space.

    In September 1988, while INXS were at the peak of their powers, the "Need You Tonight/Mediate" video took home five MTV Video Music Awards, including Video Of The Year and Viewer's Choice.
  • As he did on "Need You Tonight," Andrew Farriss programmed a Roland 707 drum machine to create the basic beat. He kept both songs at the same beats per minute, which is why they meshed together so well.
  • Musically, this song contrasts a steady funk beat with ethereal keyboard sounds in the style of Brian Eno. Combined with the quasi-rapping of Michael Hutchence, it gets your attention.

Comments: 1

  • Susan from Illinois Need You Tonight/Mediate together are great! I wish radio stations still played them back-to-back. Love the videos back-to-back also!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul Station

Paul Stanley of Kiss, Soul StationSongwriter Interviews

Paul Stanley on his soul music project, the Kiss songs with the biggest soul influence, and the non-make-up era of the band.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.