Release date: 05/10/2004 | Length: 4:07 | Release: Around the Sun | SuE: #201

If the world were filled with the likes of you
Then I’m putting up a fight

Final Straw is one of R.E.M.’s most overtly political and ideological songs. Their disdain for war and right-wing politics has been well-documented throughout their career, but in their songs it’s tended to be couched in an enigmatic code. That’s not to call Final Straw ham-fisted by any means, but the nuance is as slim as it’s ever been.

Three years into the Bush administration and you could see why Stipe and co. were keen to make a statement, particularly with regards to the United States’ brutal response to the 9/11 attacks. “Who died and lifted you up to perfection?” is one of the more scything lines, though that’s somewhat dampened by “Love will be my strongest weapon” later on. It’s not a criticism of the stance, but one can’t help but feel it’s a basic notion that R.E.M. have usually weaved into better words.

Originally released in 2003 as a free download, Final Straw later arrived on 2004 album Around the Sun in a slightly different guise. I cannot find any trace of the original version, though that suggests it was not the most groundbreaking of mixes. Musically it seems to pick up Up‘s electronic whooshes, making it one of the more interesting songs from Around the Sun, though on an album that’s widely regarded to be uninteresting, that’s not a high bar to clear.

2019’s expanded release of Monster showed us that Final Straw had been bouncing around the band’s studio for at least 10 years, though then it was under the moniker of Harlan County with Whistling. This was a far more countryfied version, but the basic elements remain. It’s a catchy jaunty rhythm, and when I first listened to Around the Sun this was the song that most captured my attention. It’s just a shame that at this period the band didn’t have the drive to make it truly potent.

Release date: 05/10/2004 | Length: 3:43 | Release: Around the Sun | SuE: #231

You made your ultimatum, too big to ignore

Didn’t you now?

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Around the Sun is R.E.M.’s weakest album. I’m loathe to use the term ‘worst’, because that implies that they have multiple bad albums, which is not the case. But ultimately, Around the Sun is unequivocally their nadir in an otherwise stellar discography. So sadly, most of the entries on this album’s songs will be fairly…uneventful.

Make It All Okay suffers from lethargy, despite being fourth on a 13-track record. The percussion is the most disappointing aspect, sounding like an incredibly basic backing track rather than something to drive the song’s rhythm, though Mike Mills’ bass is barely a grade above.

The piano melody is slightly warming as Stipe repeats “Didn’t you now, didn’t you”, but that’s about it sadly. Religion has cropped up in numerous R.E.M. songs, usually as a cryptic guise that serves as a gateway to so many layers of meaning, but here it just feels really simple? “Well, Jesus loves me fine, And your words fall flat this time”. It’s fine to do simplicity but they need an ounce of elegance, which Make It All Okay simply lacks.