Pop Is Dead

"Pop Is Dead"
Single by Radiohead
Released10 May 1993
StudioChipping Norton Recording Studios[1]
Genre
Length2:10
Label
Songwriters
Producers
  • 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 English rock band Radiohead, released as a non-album single on 10 May 1993, several months after their debut album, Pablo Honey. It features a chromatic guitar riff and lyrics criticising the music industry. The music video features the singer, Thom Yorke, in a coffin.

"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK singles chart and received negative reviews. Years later, members of Radiohead said they regretted releasing it. It is not available on streaming platforms.

Music

"Pop Is Dead" is driven by a chromatic riff played by the lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood.[3] Louder described it as a "crunching, seething and quite silly alt-rock track". The lyrics criticise the media and music industry, a theme shared with Radiohead's previous single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar".[2][3][4] The singer, Thom Yorke, said: "I wrote 'Pop Is Dead' as a kind of epitaph to 1992. Hence the lines 'Pop is dead / died an ugly death by catalogue'."[2] At a live performance in 1994, Yorke dedicated the song to "members of the press ... fucking bunch of losers".[4]

The journalist Mac Randall described the acoustic B-side "Banana Co." as "Beatlesque", with lyrics hinting at a loathing of multinational corporations. The electric version of "Banana Co." was later included on the "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" single (1996).[3][5] 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. The performance contains extra lyrics: "They can kiss my ass!"[6]

Music video

The music video was directed by Dwight Clarke,[7] based on a treatment by Yorke.[8] Stereogum likened it to a Nirvana video.[7] It features Yorke portraying the character of Pop as "a dandified vampire in a glass coffin", accompanied by other band members.[7] Yorke was carried in the coffin by members of the Radiohead fan club.[8]

According to the bassist, Colin Greenwood, Radiohead's record company, EMI, gave the band a stylist and money for clothes. The members chose completely different outfits: "We looked like we were in four different bands."[9] Radiohead's video commissioner, Dilly Gent, said: "In the early '90s, we probably thought those videos were all right, but looking back at them now, we all just want to die."[8]

Release

"Pop Is Dead" reached number 42 on the UK singles chart.[10] It was not released in the US.[11] A performance was included in the 1995 live video Live at the Astoria.[2] Years after its release, the Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien called it "a hideous mistake",[3] and the drummer, Philip Selway, said he regretted releasing it.[12] Asked in 2003 what advice Radiohead would give to their 1991 selves, Yorke responded: "Don't release 'Pop Is Dead'!"[2]

"Pop Is Dead" was included on the 2009 Pablo Honey reissue, released by EMI without Radiohead's approval.[13][14] In 2016, after Radiohead's catalogue was transferred to XL Recordings, the reissue was removed from streaming services.[15][16] "Pop Is Dead" is not available on streaming platforms and was not added to Radiohead's online Public Library archive.[2]

Reviewing the Pablo Honey reissue for IGN, Finn White described "Pop Is Dead" as a "clever and humorous rock satire".[17] However, Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef found it "dreadful".[18] In The Quietus, Wyndham Wallace wrote that it "appeared so contemptuous that it was hard, even for Radiohead’s biggest fans, to like", and described the video as "ill-advised".[4] In 2019, the music journalist Marc Hogan named "Pop Is Dead" the worst Radiohead song.[19] The Guardian journalist Chris Salmon wrote that while several Radiohead videos were among the best of all time, "Pop Is Dead" was among the worst.[20]

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

Production and artwork

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

Chart performance

Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[10] 42

References

  1. ^ "Radiohead – Pop Is Dead". Discogs. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Doherty, Niall (4 November 2024). "'A hideous mistake': the 1993 song that Radiohead have tried to scrub from their history". Louder. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Randall, Mac (2011). Exit Music - The Radiohead Story: The Radiohead Story. Omnibus. ISBN 978-0857126955.
  4. ^ a b c Wallace, Wyndham (3 March 2015). "World class: how Radiohead gave us The Bends". The Quietus. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  5. ^ Gaerig, Andrew (12 May 2005). "Playing god: Radiohead: Pablo Honey". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  6. ^ Hale, Jonathan (1999). Radiohead: From a Great Height. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223739.
  7. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (13 March 2015). "Out Of Control On Videotape: The 10 Best Radiohead Music Videos". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Dombal, Ryan (21 March 2017). "This is what you get: an oral history of Radiohead's 'Karma Police' video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ^ Trendall, Andrew (17 October 2024). "Colin Greenwood on capturing 'the middle era' of Radiohead – and what's next for the band". NME. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Radiohead - UK Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  11. ^ Mac Randall (1 April 1998). "The Golden Age of Radiohead". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. ^ Branwyn, Gareth (18 September 2022). "The Radiohead song the band wants you to forget about". BoingBoing. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. ^ Christman, Ed (4 April 2016). "Radiohead's Early Catalog Moves From Warner Bros. to XL". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  14. ^ Trendell, Andrew. "Here's why so many Radiohead songs disappeared from Spotify + streaming". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  15. ^ Christman, Ed (4 April 2016). "Radiohead's Early Catalog Moves From Warner Bros. to XL". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  16. ^ Trendell, Andrew. "Here's why so many Radiohead songs disappeared from Spotify + streaming". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  17. ^ White, Finn (24 March 2009). "Radiohead — Pablo Honey (Collector's Edition) review". IGN. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  18. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (16 April 2009). "Radiohead — Pablo Honey: Collector's Edition". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  19. ^ Hogan, Marc (28 March 2019). "I Might Be Wrong: Every Radiohead Song, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  20. ^ Salmon, Chris (2 March 2007). "Ramblin' man". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 March 2026.


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