Pop Is Dead

Pop Is Dead
"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.
Music
"Pop Is Dead" is driven by a chromatic riff played by the lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood. As with Radiohead's previous single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar", the lyrics criticise the media and music industry.
One 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 "Banana Co." was later included on the "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" single. 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!"
Reception
"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart, below expectations. It was not released in the US. In 1995, the Melody Maker editor Robin Bresnark wrote that if Radiohead had released "Pop is Dead" after Radiohead's second album, The Bends, it would be a "top-five single".
"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". However, Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef found it "dreadful". In 2019, the American music journalist Marc Hogan named it the worst Radiohead song.
Years after its release, the Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien called the track "a hideous mistake". The drummer, Philip Selway, said he regretted releasing it.
Music video
The music video was directed by Dwight Clarke, based on a treatment by the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke. It features Yorke portraying the character of Pop as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin", accompanied by other band members. 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." Stereogum likened the video to those of Nirvana. Sometime in 2017, the music video vanished off of YouTube without a trace. The music video, along with videos for singles Anyone Can Play Guitar and Stop Whispering can be found on Vimeo.
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
Icon – design
Chart performance
References
Parlophone singles
Pop is Dead
1993 singles
EMI Records singles
Songs written by Thom Yorke
Songs written by Colin Greenwood
Songs written by Jonny Greenwood
Songs written by Philip Selway
Songs written by Ed O'Brien
Satirical songs
Songs about pop music
Songs about the media
Songs about radio
1993 songs