This album by R.E.M. from 2004 features imagery and typography that conveys political and social messages relating to the band's views on the American government and society at the time. The album artwork depicts ghostly figures to suggest people feeling unheard, and blurred photos symbolizing journeys and a need for peace and equality. Lyrics in the booklet also reflect themes of relationships and the band's activist views during George W. Bush's presidency.

1. “Around The Sun” by R.E.M.
Digipak Deconstruction

2. The Album
• “Around the Sun” is the thirteenth studio album by American
alternative rock band R.E.M.
• It was released in 2004 by Warner Bros Records
• This is a youtube link to the full album :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gESedG7NApc

3. The Front Cover : Typography
• The band name “R.E.M.” is typed in a large, bold font in the top left hand corner of
the cover. Although it is easy to read and clear, there is only a thin outline of the
letters so it is not overpowering and fits in well with the imagery on the front of the
album.
• The album name “Around The Sun” has been done in a smaller font

4. The Front Cover : Imagery
•
The picture on the front of the digipak is an image of three
different sized figures superimposed next to each other to
suggest that the figures are ghostly or inhuman. This image
could connote a political message that people are made to feel
transparent and unheard. The lead singer of R.E.M. Michael
Stipe is known for his social and political activism which is
displayed in songs in this album including “Around the Sun”,
“Final Straw” and “The Outsiders”. The album was written
while American president George Bush was in office, and the
songs reflect Stipe’s view on the republican president.
The image is a portrayal of this as it connotes people being
unrepresented and not listened to in society.

5. Front Cover : Imagery
•
•
The background is mainly plain white space with what looks like a bridge going across the bottom
of the cover. The negative space used here could be another representation of how government
view society and how they have not been able to fill in the gaps and help everyone who should be
helped. This is again reflective of Stipe’s view of George Bush.
The image is quite blue which suggests peace and serenity. This could be a symbol of the desires of
the band suggesting they want a more peaceful society.

6. The Inside Cover
• The inside cover is another blurred photograph of a pair of legs. This could symbolise
journeys and moving away which is also a link to some of the songs on this album
such as “Leaving New York” and “High Speed Train”. The image of the legs could also
connote journeys in a metaphorical way as R.E.M. often use these metaphors in their
songs to depict their relationships.

7. The Back Cover : Typography
•
The song list on the back cover of the digipak takes up almost the whole of the page. The font is
quite bold and clear which suggests they wanted the writing to over power the images. The songs
have been typed in the same font as the album title on the front cover to keep continuity through
the digipak.
•
At the bottom of the back cover in a smaller font it tells us who it is produced by and the
information about the record label. This has been made a lot smaller as it is not likely that anyone
will want to read this as the band’s audience will be more interested in the songs.

8. The Back Cover : Imagery
•
The image on the back cover is someone standing holding their arm up, except it has been turned
upside down. The image is very blurred and transparent so is in keeping with the other images on
this album. The image is mainly blue suggesting the need for peace and possibly equality, which
again relates to the political meanings of the album.
•
The fact that the image is turned upside down could connotes the mess that the world or the
country is in and that the government’s priorities are upside down.

9. The Spine
• The spine of the digipak features the name of the album, the band
name and the name of the record label. This makes it easy to be
found when stored with other CDs.

10. The CD
•
•
The CD is plain white with the band name, the album title and the song list shown on it. The band
name “R.E.M.” is coloured in silver which makes it stand out more than the other writing on the
CD as it is mainly done in black. The song list is done in the same font as it is on the back of the
digipak to keep continuity.
This minimalistic approach is typical of indie genres. It implies that the music is the most
important part of the album as indie artists typically pride themselves on their musical talent.

11. The Booklet
• The booklet in this digipak folds out to a large sheet of paper, on one side of which
are the lyrics to all the songs on the album. The lyrics are in a similar font to the one
used on the rest of the album, apart from it is messier.

12. The Booklet
• In the bottom right corner are the credits showing the names of all the people and
companies involved in making the album.

13. The Booklet
•
On the other side of the sheet is a large image depicting a man standing with his arm up, with a
reflection of the image in blue underneath. The reflection is the same as the one featured on the
back of the digipak. This picture could be an implication of how the album reflects social and
political views, as well as relationships.