Pop Is Dead


"Pop Is Dead" is a song by the British alternative rock band Radiohead. It was released as a non-album single in on 10 May 1993, several months after their debut album Pablo Honey, though it was later included on the 2009 Collector's Edition re-issue.
"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1993. It was included in the 2009 Pablo Honey reissue.

Background and lyrics

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

Reception

Despite charting on the UK Singles Chart, "Pop is Dead" performed 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." Five years after its release, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien called the track "a hideous mistake".
Reviewing the Pablo Honey reissue, IGN critic Finn White described the "Pop is Dead" as a "clever and humorous rock satire." However, Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef found the track "dreadful".

Music video

The music video, which was filmed at the Neolithic Long barrow Wayland's Smithy in Oxfordshire, and directed by Dwight Clarke, features frontman Thom Yorke portraying the character of Pop as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin", accompanied by other band members. The video was compared to those of Nirvana.

Track listing

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

    Personnel

Radiohead
Technical personnel