Download - Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

Transcript
Page 1: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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

Page 2: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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

Page 3: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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

Page 4: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 5: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 6: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 7: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 8: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 9: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 10: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 11: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.

Page 12: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

The Booklet• In the bottom right corner are the credits showing the names of all the

people and companies involved in making the album.

Page 13: Around The Sun Digipak Deconstruction

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.