Songfacts®:

• This song was recorded during the Around The Sun sessions, but was not included on that record. However, it was a regular in the band's set on their 2004/2005 world tour.
• The lyrics were inspired by the 1999 riots surrounding the World Trade Organization's meeting in Seattle. In this song, a DJ is wondering what it all meant. Frontman Michael Stipe said: "It's this guy feeling, 'My God, this is the beginning of the end, or the end itself,' and wondering what his reaction will be beyond protesting in the streets."
• This is a lyrically meaner update of 1987's "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (from the 1987 album Document). Frontman Michael Stipe told The Daily Mail March 28,2008: "It's the end of the world as we know it once again! It's very much in the vein of a couple of other songs, but it made us laugh."