"Popular"
Single by Nada Surf
from the album High/Low
ReleasedMay 1996 (1996-05)
StudioElectric Lady (Greenwich Village, New York City)
Genre
Length3:36
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ric Ocasek
Nada Surf singles chronology
"Popular"
(1996)		 "Treehouse"
(1996)
Music video
"Popular" on YouTube

"Popular" is a song by American alternative rock band Nada Surf, released as the first single from their debut album, High/Low (1996), in May 1996. Each verse in "Popular" presents, in spoken-word format, sarcastic advice to teenagers taken from the book Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity by American actress Gloria Winters.

The song reached number 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Popular" was also a hit in Iceland, topping the country's chart for two weeks, and in France, where it reached number 10 and received a gold certification for sales of over 250,000. The song additionally reached the top 40 in New Zealand, Sweden, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.

Background and release

The whole song, except for the chorus, are parts made up from the 1964 teen advice book Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, written by Gloria Winters. The excerpts are spoken in a sarcastic tone by Matthew Caws.[5]

"Popular" proved to be Nada Surf's most successful single. The song was originally scheduled to be serviced to US alternative radio on June 10, 1996, but its growing popularity prompted Elektra Records to move the release date forward to May 1996.[6] Caws explained, "After the attention from 'Popular' died down, people seemed to get the impression that we'd somehow fallen from grace."[7]

Nada Surf continue to perform the song live despite the stylistic difference from the band's later material. Caws commented in 2012, "We've tried playing 'Popular' at concerts now. If we don't play it, someone is grumpy. If we do play it, someone else is grumpy. We can't win."[7]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Jesse Peretz, was shot at Bayonne High School, with administration approval, and showed football players and cheerleaders, wearing the uniforms of the school, as well as the three members of the band, Matthew as a teacher, Daniel as a security guard, and Ira as the football coach.[8] The video was styled by Andrea Linett, a former editor at Sassy magazine, who went on to be the founding creative director of Lucky magazine.

The plot consists of a female cheerleader taking the teacher's lesson on popularity literally by two-timing two football players behind their backs, under the notion that she deserves "every boy in the whole world" by following that teacher's "teenage guide to popularity." The cheerleader in the music video was portrayed by then 18-year-old Sarah Sebestyen, a student at the time at Professional Children's School in Manhattan.[9]

Track listings

European and Australia CD single[10]

  1. "Popular" – 3:36
  2. "Pressure Free" – 2:32
  3. "Oh No" – 2:08

Australian CD single with slipcase[11]

  1. "Popular"
  2. "Psychic Caramel"

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the European-Australian CD single liner notes.[10]

Studio

Personnel

  • Matthew Caws – writing
  • Daniel Lorca – writing
  • Ric Ocasek – production
  • Catherine Talese – Popularspeak
  • Bruce Calder – engineering
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Jim deBarros – art direction and design
  • John Kelsey – cover photo

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[28] Gold 250,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States May 1996 Alternative radio Elektra [6]
July 30, 1996 Contemporary hit radio [29]
Europe August 1996 Radio [30]
United Kingdom September 1996
February 17, 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
 [31]

Pom Pom Squad version

In December 2021, indie rock band Pom Pom Squad released a cover of "Popular," with Matthew Caws appearing on backing vocals. The accompanying video replicated the 1996 video, with Pom Pom Squad's Mia Berrin playing each of the major characters. The video was filmed at the same location as Nada Surf's video.[32]

References

  1. ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "Nada Surf | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  2. ↑ "The 96 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996". Spin. August 31, 2016. p. 5. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  3. ↑ Viscovi, Sage (January 5, 2017). "The 15 best music videos set in high school". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  4. ↑ Kurland, Jordan. "The Mix: 100 Essential Noise Pop Songs". NPR.
  5. ↑ Davis, Allison P. (March 8, 2016). "Teens Have So Much to Learn from This One-Hit Wonder". The Cut. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Nada 'Popular'? This Song Is" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1148. May 31, 1996. p. 23. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Suddath, Claire (January 27, 2012). "Nada Surf: Life After the One-Hit Wonder". Time. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Nada Surf – "Popular"". mvdbase.com. June 18, 1996. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Nada Surf 'Popular' Cheerleader All Grown Up « Regretful Morning". regretfulmorning.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Popular (European & Australian CD single liner notes). Nada Surf. Elektra Records. 1996. 7559-64259-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ Popular (Australian CD single liner notes). Nada Surf. Elektra Records. 1996. 7559-64263-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8496." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 49. December 7, 1996. p. 12. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (12.12. – 18.12. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). December 13, 1996. p. 20. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Nada Surf – Popular". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Chart Log UK (N)". zobbel.de. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Nada Surf Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Nada Surf Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1996" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Årslista Singlar, 1996" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 24. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  28. ↑ "French single certifications – Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1156. July 26, 1996. p. 39. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Elektra's Nada Surf Finds 'Popular'-ity". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 32. August 10, 1996. p. 76. 'Popular' will be serviced to European radio stations in early August and to U.K. radio in September.
  31. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. February 15, 1997. p. 31. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  32. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (December 15, 2021). "Pom Pom Squad's Remake of Nada Surf's 'Popular' Is the High-School Satire of the Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
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