"Popular" is a song by Nada Surf

Nada Surf

Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws , Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca .-Early years:...

 and the first single from their debut album High/Low

High/Low

High/Low was Nada Surf's first full-length album. The album is best known for its single "Popular."-Track listing:All tracks written by Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca.# "Deeper Well" – 3:55# "The Plan" – 4:31# "Popular" – 3:48# "Sleep" – 3:47...

. Each of the verses in '"Popular" presents, in spoken word format, sarcastic advice to teens. Initially offered in a calm, deadpan voice, the lyrics gradually build Kinison

Sam Kinison

Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...

-style in teen angst and rage.

The song reached number 11 on the U.S. Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Modern Rock Tracks

Modern Rock Tracks

Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...

 chart and propelled the album to number 63 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

. "Popular" was also a big hit in France, reaching the Top 10 with a total chart run of 15 consecutive weeks in the French Top 50

Top 50

The Top 50 refers to a list of weekly hit singles, or albums. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the same but similar to the top 40, but with 10 extra places....

. It was also used in France in a TV commercial for the radio station Fun Radio

Fun Radio

Fun Kids is a British children's digital radio station in the United Kingdom and children's website, currently the Sony and Arqiva Digital Radio Station of the year. It is operated by Children's Radio UK Ltd which is owned by Folder Media...

, which was then the most influential radio station among teenagers.

Background and recording

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 television actress Gloria Winters

Gloria Winters

Gloria Winters was an actress most remembered for having portrayed the well-mannered niece, Penny King, in the 1950s-1960s American television series Sky King.-Early life and career:Gloria Winters grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, but later moved to Hollywood...

. The excerpts are spoken in a sarcastic tone by Matthew Caws

Matthew Caws

Matthew Caws is the lead singer of the band Nada Surf. His parents are Peter Caws and Mary Ann Caws.- Biography :...

. A rerecorded version from 2007 appears on the band's MySpace

MySpace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

.

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Jesse Peretz

Jesse Peretz

Jesse Peretz is an American bass guitar player, feature film director, and Grammy-Award winning music video director.-Life and career:...

, was shot at the Bayonne High School

Bayonne High School

Bayonne High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, operated by the Bayonne Board of Education....

, 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. The video was styled by Andrea Linett, a former editor at Sassy magazine, who went on to found Lucky magazine.

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

Professional Children's School

Professional Children's School is a not for profit, college preparatory school that was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an education to young people working on the New York stage, in Vaudeville, or "on the road."-History:...

 in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

.

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
French Singles Chart	10
Swedish Singles Charts	13
Belgian Singles Chart	21
New Zealand Singles Chart	40
Australian Singles Chart	43
Netherlands Singles Chart	54