Synopsis

Michael Stipe dances with three women in a stark studio setting, all wearing brightly patterned pants and little else. The performance is deliberately simple and playful, with the dancers moving in loose formation while Stipe alternates between exaggerated gestures, lip-synching, and moments of stillness. The video's stripped-down presentation matches the song's teasing take on pop conventions. In the television version, black censor bars cover the dancers' chests, including Stipe's, turning the censorship itself into part of the visual joke.

Factoids & Trivia

• The song is the opening track on R.E.M.'s 1988 album *Green* and was issued as the album's third single in 1989.

• MTV requested that the three topless women be censored. The video responded by placing black bars over all four dancers, including Michael Stipe, supporting the deliberately equal-handed joke that "a nipple is a nipple."

• An uncensored version later circulated through R.E.M.'s official YouTube channel with an age restriction.

• The video is notable because Stipe, who had previously been reluctant to lip-synch in promotional clips, takes part in a highly stylized performance built around miming and choreography.

• The single's B-side was an acoustic version of "Pop Song 89," a stripped-back counterpart to the brightly produced album recording.

• "Pop Song 89" reached No. 86 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 14 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart.