(Credits: Acroterion / Capitol Records)
Tue 10 March 2026 20:30, UK
Nothing quite drives me crazy like the way a certain subsect of rock and roll fans nowadays hate on pop music with a passion.
I’m not talking about people having a dislike for some of the trash that dominates the top 40. I’m talking about people who treat the genre with a blanket rule, as if some of their all-time favourite 1960s songs aren’t, at their core, pop songs, and some of their idols aren’t, at their core, pop stars.
Musically, it was a ridiculous comparison to make, but when One Direction first broke out, and they were dubbed the new Beatles because of the Beatlemania-like fan obsession, it spoke to the way pop music has evolved. The band were sonically very, very different and nowhere near as experimental in order to earn that label, but there are plenty of modern pop artists that exist in the same vein as the Fab Four, merging interesting musical decisions with crowd-pleasing melodies.
Because what even is ‘pop’? Definitions thrown around pin it as music that is simply accessible, catchy, able to be enjoyed by the masses, and commercially driven.
By that definition, several of the 1960s heroes fall under the umbrella as the rock and roll of that era, coming from the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Mamas and Papas was definitely pop. Even though there were guitars and drums, the beats and riffs were purposefully crafted to hook people in and get crowds dancing.
In particular, Graham Nash pegs another idol as a pop star as he picked what he believes to be the greatest pop song ever written. Speaking to Rolling Stone about the songs that inspired him most, he cast Brian Wilson as the ultimate pop star, stating of ‘God Only Knows’, “This is one of the best songs that was ever written. It’s one of the best records that was ever made. Brian Wilson is a genius.”
While pop-haters would argue back, trying to save Wilson and The Beach Boys from the musical world they loathe, ‘God Only Knows’ is a pop song, and the band mostly made pop songs, with Pet Sounds especially feeling like a pop album thanks to this track alongside ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and ‘I Know There’s An Answer’.
The whole album is a prime example of great pop writing as its reach is endless and timeless, still hooking people in today for a record that is catchy but still uncompromising on Wilson’s vision and the way he wrote the emotions within it, or experimented with the band’s sonics.
It’s not too cheesy or cliche, it’s not musically boring, and it’s certainly not made without talent – and so the stereotypes of the genre are busted then and there. “That particular song just touched my heart. Carl is singing beautifully on it. I always felt like we had similar kinds of voices. But Brian is just a genius,” Nash continued, rightfully casting Wilson as a pioneer just as so many musical leaders did and continue to do as the world still bows to the ultimate 1960s pop song producer.