“Pop Song '89” by R.E.M.

R.E.M. open their sixth album, Green (1988), with "Pop Song 89", and later sent it out as the record's third single on Warner Bros. It's the band playing at bubblegum with one eyebrow raised: Peter Buck's guitar bright and chiming, Mike Mills and Bill Berry keeping the bounce light, and Michael Stipe sounding very much in on the joke. Scott Litt produced it with the band. Cash Box called it a cynical send-up of pop that turned into a pop hit anyway.

Stipe directed the video himself, dancing alongside three topless women. When MTV wanted the women covered with censor bars, he stuck black bars over all four chests, his own included, and shrugged that a nipple is a nipple. The single's B-side was an acoustic take on the same song.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.