| "Pop Is Dead" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Radiohead | ||||
| Released | 10 May 1993 | |||
| Studio | Chipping Norton Recording Studios[1] | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 2:10 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Pop Is Dead" is a song by the English 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, below expectations. Members of Radiohead later said they regretted releasing it.
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/5Views:207 634127 93564 7664 22869 315
-
The Censored Radiohead Song
-
Radiohead Pop Is Dead live1994
-
pop is dead
-
[1993 - 1997] Lost Treasures - 03. Pop Is Dead - Radiohead
-
Pop is Dead Radiohead
Transcription
Music
"Pop Is Dead" is driven by a chromatic riff played by the lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood.[2] As with Radiohead's previous single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar", the lyrics criticise the media and music industry.[2][3]
One B-side, the acoustic track "Banana Co.", was described as "mildly Beatlesque" with lyrics that hinted at a loathing of multinational corporations. The electric version of "Banana Co." was later included on the "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" single.[2][4] Another B-side, a live performance of the Pablo Honey song "Ripcord", was recorded at a Town and Country Club gig in London in February 1993, when Radiohead opened for Belly. This performance contains extra lyrics: "They can kiss my ass!"[5]
Reception
"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] It was not released in the US.[7] In 1995, the Melody Maker editor Robin Bresnark wrote that if Radiohead had released "Pop Is Dead" after their second album, The Bends, it would be a "top-five single".[2]
"Pop Is Dead" was included on the 2009 Pablo Honey reissue. Reviewing the reissue, the IGN critic Finn White described "Pop Is Dead" as a "clever and humorous rock satire".[8] However, Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef found it "dreadful".[9] In 2019, the American music journalist Marc Hogan named it the worst Radiohead song.[10]
Years after its release, the Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien called the track "a hideous mistake".[2] The drummer, Philip Selway, said he regretted releasing it.[11]
Music video
The music video was directed by Dwight Clarke,[12] based on a treatment by the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke.[13] It features Yorke portraying the character of Pop as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin", accompanied by other band members.[12] According to Radiohead's video commissioner, Dilly Gent, "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."[13] Stereogum likened the video to those of Nirvana.[12]
Track listing
- "Pop Is Dead" – 2:13
- "Banana Co." (acoustic) – 2:27
- "Creep" (live) – 4:11
- "Ripcord" (live) – 3:08
Personnel
Radiohead
- Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar
- Jonny Greenwood – guitar, piano
- Colin Greenwood – bass guitar
- Ed O'Brien – guitar, backing vocals
- Philip Selway – drums
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[6] | 42 |
References
- ^ a b "Radiohead – Pop Is Dead". Discogs. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Randall, Mac (2011). Exit Music - The Radiohead Story: The Radiohead Story. Omnibus. ISBN 978-0857126955.
- ^ Wallace, Wyndham (3 March 2015). "World Class: How Radiohead Gave Us The Bends". The Quietus. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ Gaerig, Andrew (12 May 2005). "Playing god: Radiohead: Pablo Honey". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ Hale, Jonathan (1999). Radiohead: From a Great Height. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223739.
- ^ a b "Radiohead - UK Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ Mac Randall (1 April 1998). "The Golden Age of Radiohead". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ White, Finn (24 March 2009). "Radiohead - Pablo Honey (Collector's Edition) Review". IGN. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (16 April 2009). "Radiohead - Pablo Honey: Collector's Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ Hogan, Marc (28 March 2019). "I Might Be Wrong: Every Radiohead Song, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Branwyn, Gareth (18 September 2022). "The Radiohead song the band wants you to forget about". BoingBoing. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (13 March 2015). "Out Of Control On Videotape: The 10 Best Radiohead Music Videos". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ a b Dombal, Ryan (21 March 2017). "This is what you get: an oral history of Radiohead's "Karma Police" video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
| Studio albums | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |||||||||
| Remix albums | |||||||||
| Live albums | |||||||||
| EPs | |||||||||
| Singles |
| ||||||||
| Other songs | |||||||||
| Video albums | |||||||||
| Related albums | |||||||||
| Related articles |
| ||||||||
 | This 1990s rock song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This page was last edited on 22 February 2024, at 18:20