Released May 1989 Length 3:03 | Recorded 1988 | |
B-side "Pop Song 89" (acoustic version) Format 7" single, CD single, cassette single Genre Alternative rock
pop rock
jangle pop | ||
"Pop Song 89" was the opening track and third single released from R.E.M.'s sixth studio album Green. It peaked at number 86 on the Hot 100, and in the UK "Stand" was re-released instead.
The video was directed by band frontman Michael Stipe and features him and three women, all of them topless, dancing to the song. When MTV asked Stipe to put censor bars on the three women in the video, he superimposed black bars on the chests of all four dancers, himself included, later stating, "a nipple is a nipple."
The acoustic version that was used as the single's B-side was also included on disc 4 of the 1993 box set The Automatic Box, along with the other Green B-sides, and the bonus disc of the limited two-disc edition of In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 in 2003.
"Pop Song 89" was covered by Motion City Soundtrack for Punk Goes 80's and by Rockfour for their record For Fans Only!.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
- "Pop Song 89" – 3:03
- "Pop Song 89" (acoustic) – 2:58