What's happening?

"Now and then I miss you," sing The Beatles, 45 years apart. John Lennon on an old tape and Paul McCartney in the recording studioA place where music recordings are made. .

Ringo Starr is the other surviving member of the 1960s band. The fourth, George Harrison, died in 2001. Starr and McCartney used AIA computer programme that has been designed to think.  to help them make the new music.

The Beatles are the best-selling group of all time. They have sold 600 million records since they began making music in the 1960s.

But can we compareSay two things are similar. them to MozartAn 18th Century classical musician who composed more than 800 works. or ShakespeareAn English playwright and poet who is often called the greatest writer in the English language. ?

Expert Simon Frith says pop musicPopular music of the sort that has been popular since the 1950s, usually with a strong rhythm and simple tunes, often contrasted with rock, soul and other forms of popular music. is "not art". Its purpose is to make you feel and dance - not think seriously.

Find out more

But what would he have thought of Rubber Soul, The Beatles' rule-breaking 1965 album? Expert James Decker wrote that it made listeners "expect" more from music.

McCartney says they try to "spread love" with their music. Some even think that the band's music helped to bring down the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. .

There is even some pop music in space - put there by scientists so that aliens can learn about us. They thought the pop hit Johnny B. Goode should be there with BeethovenGerman composer (1770 - 1827) whose intense, dramatic work revolutionised classical music..

Critics told scientists this "adolescentPeople who are still growing up, especially teenagers." music did not belong on this serious mission. The scientists replied we want to tell aliens who we are, and "there are a lot of adolescents on the planet".

Yes! Pop is hugely powerful. Millions (if not billions) of people listen to it all around the world. It brings people together. That is very serious.

No! Pop is mindless rubbish. The music is often the same every time and the lyrics are not really meant to be listened to. It does not make us think seriously.