Around the Sun
Encyclopedia
Around the Sun is the 13th studio album by the American alternative rock
band R.E.M.
, released in 2004.
. When performed live, Michael Stipe carries out the rap, as he does on a later b-side release of the song.
"Final Straw" is a politically-charged song. The version on the album is a remix of the original version, which was made available as a free download on March 25, 2003 from the band's website. The song was written as a protest of the American government's actions in the Iraq War.
Around the Sun is also the first R.E.M. album to contain a title track.
This is less than R.E.M. had previously sold in the first week of an album's release while in their early to mid-1990s commercial peak.
Lead single "Leaving New York
" became a UK Top 5
hit, with additional singles "Aftermath
," "Electron Blue
" and "Wanderlust" becoming minor hits there as well. Around the Sun did not have any singles success in the United States, however. It's the band's first studio album to fail to have a song chart on the Hot 100 since Fables of the Reconstruction
in 1985.
After the release of their following album, Accelerate
, guitarist Peter Buck
said that for him Around the Sun "... just wasn't really listenable, because it sounds like what it is, a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can't stand it anymore." The album's songs have also been largely excluded from the band's live setlists after the release of Accelerate.
, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) was not remastered.
A remix
of the song "Final Straw" appeared earlier in 2004 on the compilation album Future Soundtrack for America
.
, Mike Mills
and Michael Stipe
.
Additional personnel
|-
! Country
! Certification
(sales thresholds)
|-
|Germany
|Gold
! Release date
! Single
! Chart
! Position
|-
| 2004-09-27
| "Leaving New York
"
| UK Singles Chart
| 5
|-
| 2004-11-29
| "Aftermath
"
| UK Singles Chart
| 41
|-
| 2005-02-28
| "Electron Blue
| UK Singles Chart
| 26
|-
| 2005-07-11
| "Wanderlust"
| UK Singles Chart
| 27
|}
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, released in 2004.
Description
"The Outsiders" features a guest appearance by rapper Q-TipQ-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
. When performed live, Michael Stipe carries out the rap, as he does on a later b-side release of the song.
"Final Straw" is a politically-charged song. The version on the album is a remix of the original version, which was made available as a free download on March 25, 2003 from the band's website. The song was written as a protest of the American government's actions in the Iraq War.
Around the Sun is also the first R.E.M. album to contain a title track.
Commercial performance
Around the Sun generally received lukewarm reviews, and despite hitting #1 in the UK, it became their first studio album to miss the U.S. Top 10 (reaching #13 with 7 weeks in the Billboard 200) since 1988's Green and is still awaiting a gold record. As of March 2007, Around the Sun has sold 2 million copies worldwide and 232,000 units in the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
This is less than R.E.M. had previously sold in the first week of an album's release while in their early to mid-1990s commercial peak.
Lead single "Leaving New York
Leaving New York
"Leaving New York" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was the first single from the band's 2004 album Around the Sun. Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached as high as #5 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song failed to chart on the...
" became a UK Top 5
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
hit, with additional singles "Aftermath
Aftermath (R.E.M. song)
"Aftermath" is a song by R.E.M.. It was released as a single, the second from Around the Sun, in November 2004, missing the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart by just one place...
," "Electron Blue
Electron Blue
"Electron Blue" is a song by R.E.M. from their thirteenth studio album, Around the Sun. It was also released as a single, the album's third, reaching #26 on the UK Singles Chart...
" and "Wanderlust" becoming minor hits there as well. Around the Sun did not have any singles success in the United States, however. It's the band's first studio album to fail to have a song chart on the Hot 100 since Fables of the Reconstruction
Fables of the Reconstruction
Fables of the Reconstruction, also known as Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S...
in 1985.
After the release of their following album, Accelerate
Accelerate (R.E.M. album)
Accelerate is the 14th studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 31, 2008 in Europe, and on April 1 in North America. Produced with Jacknife Lee, Accelerate was intended as a departure from the 2004 album Around the Sun. R.E.M...
, guitarist Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
said that for him Around the Sun "... just wasn't really listenable, because it sounds like what it is, a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can't stand it anymore." The album's songs have also been largely excluded from the band's live setlists after the release of Accelerate.
Reissue
In 2005, Warner Brothers Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Around the Sun which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot ScheinerElliot Scheiner
Elliot Scheiner is a record producer and record engineer. Scheiner has received 23 Grammy Award nominations, 6 of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, one Emmy award for his work with the Eagles on their farewell tour broadcast, three TEC Awards nominations, a TEC Hall of...
, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) was not remastered.
A remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of the song "Final Straw" appeared earlier in 2004 on the compilation album Future Soundtrack for America
Future Soundtrack for America
-External links:**, the companion book from McSweeney's...
.
Track listing
All songs written by Peter BuckPeter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
and Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
.
- "Leaving New YorkLeaving New York"Leaving New York" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was the first single from the band's 2004 album Around the Sun. Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached as high as #5 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song failed to chart on the...
" – 4:49 - "Electron BlueElectron Blue"Electron Blue" is a song by R.E.M. from their thirteenth studio album, Around the Sun. It was also released as a single, the album's third, reaching #26 on the UK Singles Chart...
" – 4:12 - "The Outsiders" (feat. Q-TipQ-Tip (rapper)Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
) – 4:14 - "Make It All Okay" – 3:43
- "Final Straw" – 4:06
- "I Wanted to Be Wrong" – 4:34
- "Wanderlust" – 3:04
- "Boy in the Well" – 5:22
- "AftermathAftermath (R.E.M. song)"Aftermath" is a song by R.E.M.. It was released as a single, the second from Around the Sun, in November 2004, missing the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart by just one place...
" – 3:52 - "High Speed Train" – 5:03
- "The Worst Joke Ever" – 3:37
- "The Ascent of Man" – 4:07
- "Around the Sun" – 4:29
Personnel
R.E.M.- Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Mike MillsMike MillsMichael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, production - Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, production, packaging
Additional personnel
- Chris Bilheimer: Packaging
- Oswald "Wiz" Bowe: Assistant Engineer
- Jimmy Briggs: Assistant Engineer
- DeWitt Burton: Technical Assistance
- Jamie Candiloro: Engineer, Mixing, Musician
- Alex Dixon: Assistant
- Bertis Downs: Advisor
- Thomas Roman Dozol: Photography, Cover Photo
- Bryan Gallant: Assistant
- Ted Jensen: Mastering
- Patrick McCarthy: Producer, Mixing
- Scott McCaughey: Musician
- Kirk McNally: Assistant Engineer
- Q-Tip: Musician
- Bill Rieflin: Musician
- Hahn Rowe: Musician
- Ken Stringfellow: Musician
- Javier Valverde: Assistant Engineer
- Bob Whittaker: Technical Assistance
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
13 (7 weeks on the chart) |
| 2004 | UK album chart | 1 (7 weeks on the chart) |
| 2004 | Australian album chart | 7 |
Certifications
{| class="wikitable"|-
! Country
! Certification
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales thresholds)
|-
|Germany
Bundesverband Musikindustrie
The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises....
|Gold
Singles
{|class="wikitable"! Release date
! Single
! Chart
! Position
|-
| 2004-09-27
| "Leaving New York
Leaving New York
"Leaving New York" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was the first single from the band's 2004 album Around the Sun. Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached as high as #5 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song failed to chart on the...
"
| UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
| 5
|-
| 2004-11-29
| "Aftermath
Aftermath (R.E.M. song)
"Aftermath" is a song by R.E.M.. It was released as a single, the second from Around the Sun, in November 2004, missing the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart by just one place...
"
| UK Singles Chart
| 41
|-
| 2005-02-28
| "Electron Blue
Electron Blue
"Electron Blue" is a song by R.E.M. from their thirteenth studio album, Around the Sun. It was also released as a single, the album's third, reaching #26 on the UK Singles Chart...
| UK Singles Chart
| 26
|-
| 2005-07-11
| "Wanderlust"
| UK Singles Chart
| 27
|}