Initially planned for 07/14 R.E.M. is a cornerstone of the 1990s and 2000s rock scene. Hailing from the alternative scene, R.E.M. extends its exemplary discography with *Around The Sun*, released in 2004. Led by the single ‘Leaving New York’, the band's thirteenth studio album, spearheaded by Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills, combines intimate ballads with political charges, exemplified by the virulent 'Final Straw', which denounces the invasion of Iraq by American troops.