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Cover of High/Low by Nada Surf
Cover: High/Low

Song · Nada Surf

“Popular” by Nada Surf

From the album High/Low (1996)

“Popular” by Nada Surf appears on 29 radio countdowns from 19 stations between 1996 and 2025. It was first released in 1996 on the album High/Low. Its best result is #36 on the Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #40 alternative song of 1996, #2,057 alternative song of all time and #417 of the '90s.

29countdowns
19stations
#36best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1996–2025years charted

Watch

Nada Surf – Popular (Official Video) [Remastered in HD]

Video from YouTube (nada surf). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Popular" was Nada Surf's first single, out in May 1996, a month ahead of their debut album High/Low, and it arrived with a gimmick that stuck. The verses are spoken, deadpan recitations of snide advice for teenagers lifted from Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, a book by actress Gloria Winters, before the guitars crash in and the chorus goes for the throat.

Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca wrote it, with Caws on guitar, Lorca on bass and Ira Elliot on drums, and Ric Ocasek produced it with a crisp, punchy sheen. It reached No. 11 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, spent two weeks at number one in Iceland, and hit number 10 in France, where it went gold.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 71 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 53 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 53 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 85 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 49 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 66 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 46 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1996 100
1996 48 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1996 60 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 436 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 928 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
2002 48 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2004 36 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 350 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 86 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 498 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 224 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2014 441 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 463 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2020 215 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 207 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 173 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 468 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 186 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 863 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 679 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 263 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 478 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2025 450 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500

Charting alongside it in 1996

Best songs of 1996 →
  1. 1Down311
  2. 2PepperButthole Surfers
  3. 3Where It's AtBeck
  4. 4SpiderwebsNo Doubt
  5. 5What I GotSublime
  6. 6MachineheadBush

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