I've said this a few times here, but my respect for what we call "pop" music soared after I'd cut 'n' spliced several hundred "pop songs" for our local dance teacher (anyone wanna hear my 3-minute version of American Pie? I promise you can't see the join...) :-) I had to do a lot of very close listening, and I realised that in many cases (not all, but 'twas ever thus...) the composition, arrangements, balance, recording quality and overall production values were often staggeringly good...There was a lot of genuine talent on show too.. I even got to like a good few, and I hadn't listened to any "pop" music since the Beatles broke up...

"Pop," to define a genre (or bunch of genres) of music can be used as a very handy pejorative. "Pop." Daft little word. Bottle of pop. Lollipop. Pop goes the weasel. You don't get that with "jazz", "folk" or "classical." And note that with those three they are not just one thing, just like "pop" isn't just one thing. You can nitpick about classical to say that it started with Bach's son and ended pre-Beethoven, but most people hearing you say that wouldn't know what you were talking about. Music is a huge mystery (said Vladimir Ashkenazy). We should celebrate it and enjoy the fact that its boundaries are irredeemably fuzzy-wuzzy. I don't even think I know what pop music is.