In spite of the triumph of teen pop in the late ’90s, the word still carries with it an element of guilty pleasure in the United States. The reasons for this are complicated (my book NoBrow is an attempt to explain them at length), but suffice it to say that Americans, lacking a class system within which to situate themselves, turn to culture to find their rank in society, and pop doesn’t usually secure the status that more artistically prestigious fare offers.
