Pop Is Dead

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"Pop Is Dead"
Popisdeadradio.jpg
Single by Radiohead
Released10 May 1993
StudioChipping Norton Recording Studios[1]
GenreAlternative rock
Length2:10
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jim Warren
  • Radiohead
Radiohead singles chronology
"Anyone Can Play Guitar"
(1993) 		"Pop Is Dead"
(1993) 		"Stop Whispering"
(1993)

"Pop Is Dead" is a song by the British alternative rock band Radiohead. It was released as a non-album single on 10 May 1993, several months after their debut album Pablo Honey. It reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] It was included in the 2009 Pablo Honey reissue.[3]

Background and lyrics[]

"Pop Is Dead" is driven by a chromatic riff played by guitarist Jonny Greenwood.[4] Similar to the band's previous single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar", the lyrics criticises the media and music industry.[4][5]

The B-side, the acoustic track "Banana Co.", was described as "a mildly Beatlesque tune with lyrics that hinted at a general loathing of multinational corporations. The electric version of the track was later included on the Itch EP and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" single.[4][6] The live version of the "Ripcord" from the B-side was recorded at a Town and Country Club gig in London in February 1993, when the band opened for Belly. This version contains extra lyrics, added after the second chorus: "They can kiss my ass!"[7]

Reception[]

"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] below expectations. Following the release of Radiohead's second album The Bends in 1995, Melody Maker editor Robin Bresnark wrote: "If they came out with that now, it would be a top five single."[4] Five years after its release, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien called the track "a hideous mistake".[4]

Reviewing the 2009 Pablo Honey reissue, IGN critic Finn White described "Pop is Dead" as a "clever and humorous rock satire".[8] However, Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef found the track "dreadful".[9] In 2019, Vulture critic Marc Hogan named it the worst Radiohead song.[10]

Music video[]

Singer Thom Yorke as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin" in the music video video

The music video was directed by Dwight Clarke, based on a treatment by singer Thom Yorke. It features frontman Thom Yorke portraying the character of Pop as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin", accompanied by other band members.[11] According to Clarke, "We had the entire Radiohead fan club carrying him across the Oxford Downs ... In the early '90s, we probably thought those videos were all right, but looking back at them now, we all just want to die."[12] Stereogum likened the video to those of Nirvana.[11]

Track listing[]

  1. "Pop Is Dead" – 2:13
  2. "Banana Co." (acoustic) – 2:27
  3. "Creep" (live) – 4:11
  4. "Ripcord" (live) – 3:08

Personnel[]

Radiohead

Technical personnel

  • Jim Warren – production
  • Radiohead – production
  • Barry Hammond – mixing
  • Rachel Owen – artwork[1]
  • Icon – design

Chart performance[]

Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[2] 42

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Radiohead – Pop Is Dead". Discogs. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Radiohead - UK Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  3. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (15 January 2009). "Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued with Extras". Spin. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Randall, Mac (2011). Exit Music - The Radiohead Story: The Radiohead Story. Omnibus. ISBN 978-0857126955.
  5. ^ Wallace, Wyndham (3 March 2015). "World Class: How Radiohead Gave Us The Bends". The Quietus. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  6. ^ Gaerig, Andrew (12 May 2005). "Playing God: Radiohead: Pablo Honey". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  7. ^ Hale, Jonathan (1999). Radiohead: From a Great Height. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223739.
  8. ^ White, Finn (24 March 2009). "Radiohead - Pablo Honey (Collector's Edition) Review". IGN. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  9. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (16 April 2009). "Radiohead - Pablo Honey: Collector's Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  10. ^ "I Might Be Wrong: Every Radiohead Song, Ranked". Vulture. 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Breihan, Tom (13 March 2015). "Out Of Control On Videotape: The 10 Best Radiohead Music Videos". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  12. ^ Dombal, Ryan (21 March 2017). "This is what you get: an oral history of Radiohead's "Karma Police" video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-07-05.

External links[]


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