Trivia / Pop (Album)

• Chart Displacement: "Discothèque" was a big hit technically speaking, and yet it's not among the band's timeless classics by any means. And on the album itself, "Staring at the Sun" is better-known, despite its lower chart position.
• Christmas Rushed: The band had severe time constraints to finish the album before the already scheduled tour started. It did not help both the album's quality and the first batch of concerts, with the tour starter in Las Vegas downright having them restarting "Staring at the Sun" after losing the timing.
• Creator Backlash: U2 admitted years later that they thought the album stunk. They would go two decades without performing any of its songs on tour, and would even re-record many of the songs (notably, the versions in Best Of 1990-2000 sound much more like something out of Achtung Baby).
• Troubled Production: One of the worst of the band's career. Larry Mullen's availability in 1996 was limited by back surgery. They again lost one of the producers to other obligations. And a case of writer's block led to issues arranging its promotional tour. Bono would say later on that the album was released unfinished.
• What Could Have Been: The "Hong Kong Mixes" press kit from the time Nellee Hooper was still on the production role shows earlier takes of what would appear on the album, including a rockier mix of "Mofo" and an early version of "I'm Not Your Baby" without Sinéad O'Connor yet.^note The song didn't end up on the album, instead being featured on the soundtrack for the movie The End of Violence later in 1997. The press kit also reveals that there were tentative release dates for around August to October 1996.