The greatest Pop song yet written and recorded.

vair68robert, I used to consider everything I listened to as "rock," which was where it was located in the record store bins. Along came the internet, and the Steve Hoffman forum, where I was informed that most of my favorites (the Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt, Motown, the girl groups) were actually considered "pop." I was alright with that, as I’d never listened much to the one-word-name groups, or any hair metal, or hard metal, or John Mayall, or pre-Lindsey and Stevie FM. Except for Satanic Majesties and Let It Bleed, I don’t even like post-Between the Buttons Stones. So I’ve continued to hie to that definition, as long as we’re talking about the pop music of our generation. (Begone, Shawn Mendes, Barefoots, Britney, Taylor Swift, etc.)

But if you want to go back to calling it all "rock," I have no problem with that.

P.S. The only version of "Walk Away, Renee" I like is the original.

I agree, "What is Pop music?" is an interesting question, one perhaps without a definitive answer.

It originally referred to songs written in the classic two verses, chorus, bridge (middle 8 in England), third verse, chorus, out form. Or a close approximation of it. Also with a sing along melody and "hooky" chorus. That’s how The Beatles started out, not surprising as they based their music on the American Pop music of the 50’s and early-60’s, with some Rock ’n’ Roll thrown in. They pretty much stuck with that formula through the Rubber Soul album (with some exceptions), after which there were no more rules.

ABBA was obviously a Pop Group, but in my opinion so were The Ramones, and so are Weezer (hooks galore!). The Stones never were, nor were The Yardbirds (though in the 1960’s the British press referred to all the bands---including The Stones, The Who, even Cream---as Pop Groups. That was to differentiate between music for teenagers, and the adult music: Jazz and Classical). The Kinks are a tough call; Ray Davies wrote Pop Songs, but most of them didn’t sound Pop ("Waterloo Sunset" being one notable exception, but there are plenty of others). The line between Rock and Pop is not so clear, and as much an opinion as anything else. Is a "Pop" song performed by a Rock band Pop music, or Rock? Like Van Halen’s version of "California Girls".

When it comes to "God Only Knows", I use the term Pop in reference to the non-Pop music it shares many musical "devices" with: Classical music. It’s certainly not a Rock song, so whatta ya call it? There is a sub-genre amongst Pop music aficionados, called Baroque Pop. I suppose that’s the best we can do. That term works for Brian’s pal Van Dyke Parks too.

bdp24 

yes what do we call or categorize the music that doesn't' fit neatly into a box ?    

Maybe a better question could have been  "my favorite song, and imo the "best" song ever written "  Then I would not have answered with Windy , or Vacation or Walk Like An Egyptian , all Poppy songs but not my quite my favorites and definitely not the best songs ever written .

As all album forum questions I enjoy reading what others think and listen to , I've discovered new music that I wouldn't have otherwise , so thanks for this discussion.

If it ain’t classical and it ain’t jazz (I don’t consider vocal recordings of pop songs by the great songwriters of the early 20th century I posted previously to be ‘jazz’), it’s pop.

- verse/chorus
- repeat
- A middle section (either bridge, solo, interlude, etc.).

Though obviously some exceptions, generally in the 3:00-range.

That applies to everything from Al Jolson to Frank Sinatra to the Carter Family to Jimmie Rodgers to Bill Monroe to Hank Williams to Chuck Berry to James Brown to Kraftwerk to Bob Marley to The Ramones to the Sugarhill Gang.

The more “out-there” part of pop (the prog-y stuff, math metal, Zappa, Beefheart, etc.) is just the outer reaches of pop. It still ain’t classical or jazz. It’s just exploring the farthest outer reaches of the pop universe.

Good one @tylermunns. Yeah, Rock music can just be considered one branch of Pop music. How about Blues? My focus on Pop songs started in the late-60’s, when the album format replaced the 45 RPM single as the dominant format for Pop music.

I heard album after album with no really good songs, which is my first love in non-Classical music. Rock bands in the late-60’s and 70’s were more interested in exploring improvisation (often in pale imitations of Jazz), and in becoming virtuoso musicians, rather than writing good songs. So my attention moved on to singer/songwriters like Randy Newman, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, etc. I reserved my admiration of superior musicianship for the likes of The Band, Ry Cooder, and studio musicians (the L.A. guys of course, but also those in the Muscle Shoals studios---the recording team now known as The Swampers).

And like you, I consider the song "form" (verses, choruses, bridges, etc.) the determining factor in what makes for a Pop song. So when the debut album by The Dwight Twilley Band came out in 1976, I was stoked! They were a Rock ’n’ Roll band, but they wrote fantastic Pop songs, combining Memphis R & R with Merseybeat, an unbeatable combination. Their Sincerely album sounds as exhilarating today as the day it was released. Their follow up Twilley Don’t Mind has some great Pop songs, including the irresistible, hook-filled "Trying To Find My Baby", a great, great Pop song.

And then in 1977 Dave Edmunds’ Get It album appeared, and I discovered "The Master". 😉 Not just a great Rock ’n’ Roll guitarist, but one hell of a producer. He recreates the Sun Records sound like no other, as well as Spector’s Wall-Of-Sound. His albums with the Rockpile team (Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner, Terry Williams) are as good as Rock ’n Roll gets, with the emphasis on songs.

These days there are more good songwriters active than ever before. My musical taste leads me to the Americana genre, which is filled with great songwriters and singers, creating music as good as I have ever heard. It's a great time to be alive!