Around the sun

Around the sun
Studio album by REM
Publication (s)	2004
Label (s)	Warner Brothers
Format (s)	CD , LP
Genre (s)	Rock , alternative rock
Title (number)	13
running time	approx. 55 minutes
occupation	Singing : Michael Stipe Electric guitar : Peter Buck Electric bass : Mike Mills
production	Pat McCarthy , SEM
Studio (s)	Armory Studios , Vancouver , British Columbia
chronology Reveal (2001) Around the sun Accelerate (2008)

Around the Sun is the thirteenth studio album by the US rock band REM. It was released on October 4, 2004 and is the successor to Reveal , which was released in 2001 . The singles Leaving New York , Aftermath , Electron Blue and Wanderlust were released one after the other from Around the Sun , but only Leaving New York and Aftermath reached the German single charts .

Track list

1. Leaving New York - 4:49
2. Electron Blue - 4:12
3. The Outsiders ( feat.Q-Tip ) - 4:14
4. Make It All Okay - 3:43
5. Final Straw - 4:06
6. I Wanted to Be Wrong - 4:34
7. Wanderlust - 3:04
8. Boy in the Well - 5:22
9. Aftermath - 3:52
10. High Speed ​​Train - 5:03
11. The Worst Joke Ever - 3:37
12. The Ascent of Man - 4:07
13. Around the Sun - 4:29

Music style and lyrics

The album with the hit single Leaving New York builds on the time of Automatic for the People (1992) and Reveal (2001). It is the band's 13th studio album and climbed to number 13 on the Billboard 200. The lyrics are both political and personal. In the song Final Straw , REM deal with the Iraq war under the then US President George W. Bush . REM, who took part in the Vote-for-Change tour in the same year , are declared opponents of the US President. Quotations from George W. Bush are used in the other songs, although they are more personal and less political. For example in the line “So am I with you or am I against” on The Outsiders . Lines of text and motifs that deal with alienation and loneliness can often be found on the album .

The rapper Q-Tip took part in the piece The Outsiders , a cryptic love song , with rap singing . However, the vocals are mixed into the background. Other emotionally charged, more personal songs are Make It All OK and Aftermath .

criticism

Around the Sun received poor reviews. Many critics were disappointed with the album. Rezensator.de found the album to be "average and low-tension". Mathias Möller from laut.de wrote that the album "playfully convinces die-hard fans", but it is hardly suitable "to generate a new REM enthusiasm like" Automatic for the People ". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic summarized the album in a similar way . Although the album is based on the great classics of the band's history, the album cannot hold a candle to them. The music style and the lyrics are too irrelevant. In addition, the album is overproduced and does not seem like a piece.

Chart placements

album

The album climbed to number 13 on the Billboard 200. In contrast to its great success in Europe, where the album was able to place itself at the top of the charts, it was the first studio album by the band that did not reach the top 10 of the US charts .

country	position
United States	13
Great Britain	1
Germany	1
Austria	1
Switzerland	1

Singles

Although Leaving New York became a radio hit worldwide, none of the album's single reached the US charts.

year	title	Chart positions
		DE	AT	CH	UK
2004	Leaving New York	16	32	18th	5
2005	Aftermath	78	-	-	41
2005	Electron Blue	-	-	-	26th
2005	Wanderlust	-	-	-	27

Awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	gold	35,000
Denmark (IFPI)	gold	(20,000)
Germany (BVMI)	gold	(150,000)
Europe (IFPI)	platinum	1,000,000
Italy (FIMI)	2 × platinum	(200,000)
Austria (IFPI)	gold	(10,000)
Sweden (IFPI)	gold	(30,000)
Switzerland (IFPI)	2 × platinum	(80,000)
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	(100,000)
All in all	6 × gold 5 × platinum	1,035,000

Main article: REM / Awards for Music Sales

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine at Allmusic (English). Retrieved February 25, 2012.
2. ↑ Music check: REM - Around the Sun. SWR3 Poplexikon - the music archive, January 22, 2011, accessed on February 25, 2012 . 
3. ↑ John Mulvey: Review. New Musical Express , December 4, 2004, accessed February 25, 2012 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Stephen M. Deusner: Review. Pitchfork Media, October 4, 2004, accessed February 25, 2012 . 
5. ↑ http://www.rezensator.de/rem_aroundthesun.htm
6. ↑ http://www.laut.de/REM/Around-The-Sun-%28Album%29
7. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003787340#/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003787340
8. ↑ ^{a b} all albums and singles of REM in the Official UK Charts (English)
9. ↑ Longplay chart tracking. (No longer available online.) Musicline.de, archived from the original on September 10, 2012 ; Retrieved February 25, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ Chart tracking albums. Austriancharts.at, accessed on February 25, 2012 . 
11. ↑ Chart tracking Around the Sun. swisscharts.com, accessed February 25, 2012 . 
12. ↑ Chart tracking single. (No longer available online.) Musicline.de, archived from the original on October 18, 2013 ; Retrieved February 25, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Chart tracking singles. Austriancharts.at, accessed on February 25, 2012 . 
14. ↑ Chart tracking singles. swisscharts.com, accessed February 25, 2012 .