Oh no, pop is dead, long live pop
It died an ugly death by back-catalogue
And now you know it gets you nowhere
And now you know, you realize
Oh no, pop is dead, it just gave up
We raised the dead but they won’t stand up
And radio has salmonella
And now you know you’re going to die
He left this message for us
So what, pop is dead, it’s no great loss
So many facelifts, his face flew off
The emperor really has no clothes on
And his skin is peeling off
Oh no, pop is dead, long live pop
One final line of coke to jack him off
Jack him off
He left this message for us
He left this message for us
He’s dead, he’s dead, pop is dead
He’s dead, he’s dead, pop is dead
He’s dead, he’s dead, pop is dead
SONG INFORMATION
Released: May 1993
Found on: Pop is Dead single
Bound for Pablo Honey, this song was actually left off the album. Thom describes it as “a king of epitaph to 1992. Hence the lines, ‘Pop is dead/long live pop/Died an ugly death by back catalogue.'” Band members seem to concur that this is a very weak track, deserving of the scathing reviews it received.
“Pop Is Dead” is the second single released by Radiohead.
Released only several months after their debut single “Creep” and their debut album Pablo Honey, the song also hit before “Creep” had begun its slow and surprising ascent up the pop charts worldwide. “Pop Is Dead” reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1993.