Pop music’s background teaches us one truth:

The modern "pop music background" began to take shape in the . It emerged as a hybrid of multiple existing genres:

It is not "low art." It is a . Writing a three-minute song that makes a stranger in Tokyo cry, a kid in Brazil dance, and a grandma in London hum along is incredibly difficult.

The Engine of Ephemerality: How Background Elements Define the Pop Genre Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)