PACKS share an acoustic cover of “Oh Me” by Meat Puppets

The FADER’s transgender charity covers compilation FADER & Friends Volume 1 is out now, available exclusively on Bandcamp until December 1, 2023. 100% of the proceeds go towards the Transgender Law Center, Mermaids, and Rainbow Railroad. Throughout the month of November, we’re speaking to the artists who contributed to the 44-song collection about the songs they covered.

Few bands have embraced their rough edges as completely and as compellingly as Meat Puppets, the Phoenix group who helped steer the college radio phenomenon we now know as "slacker rock" throughout the '80s and early '90s. Madeline Link's indie rock solo project PACKS took all the best lessons from the group, and her acoustic cover of their song "Oh, Me" (famously played by Nirvana on their 1994 MTV Unplugged album) hits every raggedy note with tenderness and care.

Listen to the song below and buy the full album on Bandcamp. Scroll down to read PACKS on the original song and her cover.

What's your first memory of this song?

Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged CD blasting in the living room on a rainy Sunday after breakfast… I didn’t wanna do my homework so I procrastinated all day.

Why did you decide to record it as your cover?

For the last little while, it was the first riff I would instinctually start playing whenever I picked up a guitar.

What does this song/band mean to you personally?

The Meat Puppets write incredibly weird and esoterically catchy songs. They inspire me because they are purely themselves all the time. They don’t give a fuck.

What's another song you'd love to cover and why?

I would like to cover "She Loves You" by the Beatles with my band someday before I die. It’s a beautiful song about someone loving you and so stop whining and don’t take it for granted.