Video Hangover: Nada Surf - "Popular"
Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. Why Video Hangover? Because when you watch as many videos as we do, you're going to feel it afterwards.
"Popular"
Nada Surf, 1996
Nada Surf explores the fine line between nostalgia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
This is the worst episode of Friday Night Lights ever
Best moment here comes at 2:30, when the cheerleader chick reaches her "one-month limit" with number 73 and decides, mid-makeout session, to pick her next beau. The choice isn't obvious: Do you take the husky kid with the mustache, or the kid with the Tim Riggins hair? Being popular, she of course goes for the pretty boy, who gets to spend the final minute licking the side of her head.
"It's like meeting the girl of your dreams, and finding out that she's five."
Let's all take a moment to recognize director Jesse Peretz, one of the unsung heroes of 1990s alterna-indie-rock. He started out as bass player for the Lemonheads, and went on to direct some of the most memorable videos of the '90s, including the Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly," and "Big Me," and the epic "Jimmy the Cabdriver" spots for MTV, which gave us all an excuse not to change the channel during Beavis and Butt-Head commercial breaks. Of course, he also directed Jimmy Fallon's "Idiot Brother Boyfriend," but hey, nobody's perfect.
Thanks for nothing, Nada Surf
Apparently Nada Surf caught a lot of crap about the homosexual overtones of the final scene in the locker room. Sure, the young, naked men seem quite pleased to be in each other's company -- but can you blame them? The girls at this school are freaking psychos.
Got a candidate for Video Hangover? Email tips at stereogum dot com.
Posted at 1:00 PM in Video, Video Hangover
Tags: Nada Surf
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Shouldn't this say Nada Surf - Popular, not Lucky. Lucky is the new album.
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ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS!
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yes it should say that, my bad entirely. that was just an extraordinary and particularly flatulent brain fart. apologies and fixed.
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I'm failing to understand the point of this segment -- is it crappy cheesy videos, nostalgia videos, what? And the copy mostly just comments on what occurs in the video, plus one hastily-gleaned bit of trivia that I'm only guessing is sourced in Wikipedia. Not for nothing, I just don't get it. And then the request for other Video Hangover candidates? "Videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid," could use a little focus.
Not to be Captain Asshole, or anything.
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Also, it's Idiot Boyfriend, not Idiot Brother.
What? Jimmy Fallon fans can be snarky, too! I'm laughing and looking into a camera as I say this.
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are you seriously questioning this segment's relevance? are you SERIOUS? easily the dumbest stereogum comment I've seen in at least the last week. don't post again.
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wow, Daniel looks completely different now. I didn't recognize him without a cigarette in his mouth.
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I had a super crush on the chick in this video for an entire summer. People kept telling me her ears were too big. I still think she's smoking hot.
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glass, anyone who disagrees with you is a captain asshole, whatever the hell that is. that girl is definitely hot, and i too had a crush on her when i was a young lad. who the hell cares about ears? anyone who says that is a captain asshole as well.
on another note, when i rediscovered nada surf after this was my only childhood memory of them was quite awesome. mr caws and co. still make good shtuff.
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This brings back crazy memories of 7th grade, attempting to preach the awesomeness of Nada Surf, only to be met with blank eyed confusion that I was listening to something that wasn't Boyz II Men or La Bouche.
And also having a crush on Andy who was a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan.
YOU'RE GONNA BE FRIENDS!
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not to be a debbie downer.
but i was dissapointed with the song to begin with,
and the shitty music video definately didnt make up for it.
who the hell rights a song about being popular anyway?
the music video is a bit too risque to be shown on the disney channel.
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and i am sorry for my terrible spelling.
writes*
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Oh man this was a great video. So much friggen SNARK. And has one of the proud homos of this world, might I add that the last scene wasn't homo at all - it was just meant to be a 'I just stuck my d*ck down your girlfriends throat, showerboy' snark mano to mano...
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JUst a small side note, there is background to most musical spits from any given artist. Point being that for this song in particular, all the lyrics in this song were actually taken as a direct quote from a pocketbook from the 50's actually called, "A teenagers guide to popularity". All that nada surf did was read directly from this book, played their "axes" along with the reading, and wall-lar: Delicious Satire. I personally think that more people should be a little less critical unless they have also produced something for others to judge publicly, perhaps with the caption; "look what came from my talent archives"
-But sometimes I forget that people with big words and no faces always know more than the rest of the world. -cruMbs-
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