So why is R.E.M.’s Around the Sun on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Let’s shineLet’s shine a spotlight on the elephant in the room straight off: I’m aware that Around the Sun is one of R.E.M.’s least acclaimed albums, even among the group’s superfans.*
* This includes the dynamite duo of Adam Scott and Scott Auckerman and their brilliant comedy improv-meets-music review podcast, the name of which changes based on the band under consideration. In this case it’s called R U Talkin’ R.E.M. Re: Me? Also see… U Talkin’ U2 To Me?
Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve come to love Around the Sun deeply. So much so that it’s now my favorite post-Bill Berry R.E.M. album and well deserving of being in the Top 100 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
We can also put it this way: there are no bad R.E.M. albums, only very good ones at the least, and I’m here making the claim that Around the Sun is one of the band’s very best.
Perhaps there’s something about my having moved to Seattle in 2016, and also reaching a certain middle agedness, that relates to Around the Sun becoming my idyllic album to throw on after waking up to a perfectly gloomy Pacific Northwest morning – steaming cup of coffee by my side – as I start to dig into the digital world and start my workday.
If I’m crazy enough to have embarked on this audaciously mad best 1,000 albums ever project, I’m also crazy enough to assert that many people haven’t given Around the Sun enough of a chance. There’s a soothing, dreamy, and nearly mesmerizing mood that takes shape right from the first track, with “Leaving New York,” which rolls through to the final notes of the title track, “Around the Sun,” at the album’s end.
“Leaving New York” is probably the best single song to listen to in isolation, a slow-ish tempo rocker with an all-timer chorus.
“Electron Blue” verges right on the edge of feeling a bit cheesy at first, but then gradually builds into something both gorgeous and super sing-alongable.
Whereas “Radio Song” – the band’s collaboration with hip hop legend KRS-One, off of Out of Time (#296 of best 1,000 albums ever) – may be my single least favorite R.E.M. song (though the live version on R.E.M. at the BBC, #74, sans KRS-One, is far better!), bringing in Q-Tip for “The Outsiders” totally works, with its R&B/hip-hop vibe adding a nice wrinkle to the overall hazy sonic aesthetic.*
* I do dig KRS-One by the way! See Kristyles, (#586).
“Wanderlust” is whimsical and endlessly catchy.
I’m not sure if you’d call “Final Straw” a dirge or some kind of old-timey, stomping folk rock-ish song, but it works. Like the rest of Around the Sun, it shows off superior songcraft and Michael Stipe’s voice sounds as incredible as ever.
And damn, the melancholy of “High Speed Train” hits just right every time.
Some stats & info about R.E.M. – Around the Sun
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, College Rock, Alternative Pop, Indie Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 2 out of 5 stars(?!)
- When was Around the Sun released? 2004
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #92 out of 1,000
R.E.M.’s Around the Sun on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from R.E.M.’s Around the Sun that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Leaving New York, never easy – I saw the light fading out.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.