Stephen Colbert Slams 2016 In Epic R.E.M. Parody — With Michael Stipe’s Help: Watch

‘Oh great, it starts with an outbreak, Zika and Harambe.’ Yes, this is that sort of song. Stephen Colbert clearly agrees that 2016 has been, well, the worst, so with the help of his guests James Franco and Michael Stipe, he put together a parody performance of R.E.M.’s hit.

Let’s be honest: 2016 sucked, and Stephen Colbert clearly gets it. On his Dec. 15 episode of The Late Show, he took on gender-biased restrooms, Ben Affleck as Batman, and of course, Donald Trump. Here are some more amazing moments from the year that Colbert himself touches on, just in the first verse alone: Bernie Sanders, Putin “breathing down our neck,” Pokemon Go, Ken Boone, and Melania Trump stealing Michelle’s speech.

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Midway through the first verse, Michael Stipe starts rolling his eyes in disgust at the parody of R.E.M.‘s “It’s The End of the World As We Know It.” He refuses to join in during the chorus, so on to the second verse he goes. This time he mentions Black Lives Matter, Ryan Lochte‘s dyed hair, and Brangelina.

Michael Stipe finally chimed in with “fine” this time around, then actually started singing and (no surprise) sounded awesome. At the very end, they also got a cameo from James Franco. Naturally, there were fireworks at the end, celebrating that 2016 is nearly over. Thankfully.

Did you love the parody?