“What is pop?”
That’s a rather loaded question for even the most serious music fan, isn’t it? On the surface, one may state the obvious: pop is a genre or genres of music that most appeals to the masses. Yet, Netflix and Banger Films’ forthcoming docuseries attempts to unlock the underlying notions of what pop truly is: a microcosm of life and society through the guise of catchy lyrics and beats.
With an official release date of June 22, the eight-part docuseries This Is Pop offers “an inside look at pop music and some of the most significant moments of the genre” through in-depth examinations and insider interviews, ultimately providing viewers with a comprehensive, grab bag-style program. Through examination of those significant moments — which often touch upon some tough to swallow pills, from the racial politics of boy bands (“The Boyz II Men Effect”), to the complexities of Swedish-bred songwriting (“Stockholm Syndrome”) — viewers will leave feeling fulfilled and informed about the music realm’s biggest stories.
Throughout the series, artists like Brandi Carlisle, T-Pain, and Hozier, producers like Ludwig Göransson and Linda Perry, songwriters like Babyface, and more music experts provide context for the time periods and genres discussed, offering insight into what made these cultural moments larger than the sum of their parts. For those music fans who shudder at the thought of reading anything over five paragraphs long, This Is Pop serves as the equivalent of a thorough oral history.
Series Producer Amanda Burt of Banger Films explains to UPROXX that coming up with which stories to cover throughout the series was “wild.” (“Where do you start, looking at the entire history of popular music?”) However, narrowing down which topics to focus on was solidified after recognizing a common thread.
“As we talked through some of the big moments, and biggest stars, and their greatest hits, we realized that most people experienced pop music as the soundtrack to their lives,” she says. “That it was that song playing as the slow dance at your prom, or you were playing this song over and over during your first heartbreak. [We] all experience music as an emotional gateway to a feeling, or a time in our lives. That made it easy to realize different themes, rather than a behind-the-music approach.” This Is Pop presents episodes focused on country music’s crossover sensations (“When Country Goes Pop”), the spiritual freedom of music festivals (“Festival Rising”), and the importance of Midtown New York’s Brill Building to songwriting (“The Brill Building In 4 Songs”).
Like many of the most talented artists of all time, the series’ ability to traverse genre allows it to soar. Not only is straight-up pop music highlighted, but hip-hop, electronic, country, folk, and more, which allows fans of other genres to gain an appreciation for styles they may not listen to regularly. This Is Pop also ties in cultural and historical facts regarding some of our favorite sounds and styles. For instance, “Auto-Tune” explores the audio processors’ ties to electronic and hip-hop music, and dives into how melisma (the art of changing the pitch of one syllable) is an important aspect of Black and African-American culture and musical vocalization.
This Is Pop’s major strength is that it takes an idea about an aspect of the topic at hand, and pushes it a step further than anticipated. One of the series’ strongest episodes “What Can A Song Do?” aims to look closely at protest music, from message to songwriting approaches and performance. While tapping into the Riot Grrrl Movement to discuss music being born out of protest, This Is Pop discusses how the scene provides safe space for women during large gatherings. While the movement is no longer as central to the culture in present-day, the sense of community Riot Grrrl purveyed is still prevalent in other major societal events, such as the 2017 Women’s March. (“The gift of melody… helps people get transported to a place where they can access pain and trauma,” Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter MILCK says of the pairing of protest music and community during the episode.)
All in all, if you’re looking for a series to binge during those ridiculously hot summer days where it’s too miserable to go play outside, This Is Pop can provide you the cool, refreshing (and informative) sensation you crave. Burt notes that although critics and music lovers, at times, see mainstream music as unworthy of “serious consideration,” she believes that the stories within this space are still artistically challenging and intriguing.
“If you look at the type of entertainment journalism surrounding the biggest pop acts of the last few decades, we know more about their scandals, their outfits, and the gossip around them than we do about the music itself, what inspired it, and how it fits into the histories of art and noise-making,” Burt says. “We wanted to change that with this series – and I think we have.”
This Is Pop hits Netflix today.