The BBC did a thing last week, and I think we should talk about it. The thing in question is a song, specifically a cover of The Beach Boys‰’ hit “God Only Knows‰” with an accompanying music video decked out in spiritual, garden of eden-type imagery.

The video was released by the BBC in order to launch the new BBC Music brand, which according to Bob Shennan (the brand‰’s new Director of Music) “will support and champion the best music to audiences across Radio, Television, and online‰Û.

So why is the BBC launching this new brand? It turns out that the BBC isn‰’t just a renowned news outlet or the source of Doctor Who; the BBC is an international public broadcasting service for Television, News, Radio, and Internet.

Basically, the government runs (or at least funds) most of the popular culture in the UK. Radio is especially, from my experience, incredibly different across the pond. There are seven main radio channels in the BBC from Pop Music on BBC Radio 1 to Talk Radio on BBC Radio 4 to Alternative and World Music on BBC Radio 6, and there‰’s even BBC Radio 4 extra that does radio dramas (something I thought hadn‰’t existed since the 1930s).

I listen to Radio 1 pretty much all the time, mostly because it‰’s far a cry from the radio I‰’ve grown up on. It‰’s not the same string of Top 40 hits over and over again; there are real, actual presenters running these shows with things to say and opinions to share. They play games, they do the news, and most importantly they put on different styles of music all the time, trying to be as international and three dimensional as they can.

It seems like the BBC is recognizing its changing sphere of influence to an international source of media and entertainment, and with that recognition comes the decision to incorporate actual different genres of music, and then make that music marketable to a wider audience. This is why Bob Shennan made the BBC Music brand, and why he created a music video that features everyone from One Direction and Lorde, to Elton John and Stevie Wonder, to Jaz Dhami and Baaba Maal. He wants to focus on what unites artists and genres, rather than on what divides them.

Where does Pop Music fit into all of this? Besides including a number of extremely poppy names in the line-up, it‰’s marketed like a pop song.

“God Only Knows‰” is a well-known, timeless pop piece by one of the most influential groups of the 20th century. Normally, this kind of cover is reserved for big money charities meant to be palatable to a wide audience; while the BBC is donating all proceeds from the song to Children in Need (a charity for supporting disadvantaged youth throughout the UK), that‰’s just a side dish to the meat of Shennan‰’s real goal, which is to show those crazy young kids that all different genres of music can be cool and relevant.

The orchestral arrangement is heavy on the plucked string bass and piano. There‰’s a clear beat – this cover isn‰’t meant to be classical, though the BBC Orchestra is featured along with several classical artists. Even when Nicola Benedetti has a violin solo, it‰’s immediately followed by Brian May (that one guitarist from Queen who played the solo on top of Buckingham Palace) with a shredded repeat of the chorus. Everyone‰’s costumes and makeup are subdued and inviting, and the imagery is downright ethereal.

While the voice of each artist is clearly distinct, and the audience is meant to notice that, nobody sounds jarring or particularly out of place; even opera singer Danielle de Niese fits her line neatly into the melodic context of the rest of the song. And of course, all of performers are crammed in next to each other, rock stars singing next to classical musicians, jazz performers paired with soulful pop voices.

Ethan Johns (the song‰’s producer) isn‰’t just trying to create something that flows well or is technically sound; he‰’s also producing a new(ish) piece of pop mastery that‰’s approachable but interesting; stylized but collaborative.

What Shennan, or maybe Ethan Johns wants to do with this work is create something that‰’s easy on the ears, not just to sell copies but to promote the idea that all different types of music can be popular and listened to.

Pop is an expansive genre, and it continues to expand along with the expansion the world (even if we aren‰’t hearing all Pop Music on the radio in the West). Rather than being based on exclusivity or obscurity, Pop is all about including as many audience members as possible.

“God Only Knows‰” is a bit different – instead of just endorsing artists because they are popular, the producers of the song included lesser-known artists from unpopular or “unusual‰” genres of music while keeping them listenable.

You might scoff at the idea of mushing together Pop Artists and Rock Gods and Classical Musicians in order to make something that will appeal to everybody, and especially for using the approachable format of Pop to do so. And I wouldn‰’t entirely blame you, because it‰’s true that genres of music that aren‰’t Pop don‰’t always want to be well-known or heard by everyone. And that‰’s fine! But, just because you‰’re a classical musician doesn‰’t mean you don‰’t want teenagers screaming about Bach or Beethoven or whoever the kids are listening to these days.

I think it‰’s really cool that artists who normally seem unapproachable or closed off are able to (granted, in different studios around the world) collaborate together to make a cohesive song, using a strategy that will appeal to the largest number of people possible, for the sake of nothing more than wanting to make good music.

Check out the video for “God Only Knows” below: