In an update on Paramore’s website, singer Hayley Williams has revealed that the band is now working on a new album. This release will be their fourth record and the first since 2009′s brand new eyes.

“The guys and I went in to record a song for our 4th album about a week and a half ago,” Williams says. “So without delaying any longer, we would like to announce that our 4th album’s producer is Justin Meldal-Johnsen.” Meldal-Johnsen, best known as the former bassist of both Beck and Nine Inch Nails, has most recently produced M83‘s double album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Williams also reveals that while they have recorded their first song, it is unlikely that the album will be released any time soon.

“Usually, we are rushing to make a very strict deadline which so far has just not been right for this record. We cannot assure you it will be out this year.”

As great as 2011 has been, it’s time to start fresh. So, while you’re making your New Year’s resolutions, start thinking about what music will be your soundtrack to 2012. Here are some of the voices we’re looking forward to hearing more from in the year to come!

Paramore, who made news in late 2010 for their split with founding members Josh and Zac Farro, are scheduled to release a full-length album in early 2012. So far, we’ve heard singles “Hello Cold World”, “Renegade” and most recently “In The Mourning”. Still, we’re wondering how the full-length album reflects any change in the band’s style. And it’ll be particularly interesting to see if Hayley Williams‘ voice is strong enough to keep fans hooked.

We’re also looking forward to having John Mayer‘s voice back in 2012! His fifth studio album, Born and Raised, which was initially scheduled for the end of 2011, will now be coming out in 2012, as soon as Mayer’s voice has completely recovered. And since the album’s already mostly completed (just missing vocals) it looks like we don’t have too long to wait!

Mumford and Sons won’t be keeping us waiting much longer either. According to the band, their next LP will be more mature, sounding a bit like “Black Sabbath meets Nick Drake”. And after the success of Sigh No More, its hard for us to imagine the band’s follow-up being anything less than great. Our fingers are crossed. Continue reading ‘Vocal Points: Voices To Look For In 2012′

“Take back Vanessa Redgrave
Take back Joe Piscopo
Take back Eddie Murphy
Give ‘em all some place to go”

— Tom Petty, “Jammin’ Me” (1987)

“Fuck Tom Petty!”—Eddie Murphy

Oh, those crazy stars! What will they say next? And will they ever learn? What a tangled web they weave when they start to take pot shots at each other.

Celebrity feuds have existed since before the dawn of the pop charts. Eminem owes much of his early notoriety to cutting down to size the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, ‘N Sync and Moby in videos and on record. Meanwhile, off the record (though always totally for attribution), Katy Perry has never met a fellow chart-topper she wouldn’t slag off.

But lately, stars keep colliding and disturbing the peace in the music galaxy. Liam Gallagher just filed suit against his brother Noel over the latter’s claim that Liam pulled out of a high-profile Oasis gig in 2009 due to a hangover and over comments Noel made blaming Liam for the demise of the band. But then brothers in arms have engaged in verbal—and occasionally, physical— combat since the heyday of the Kinks, which featured the dueling Davies, Ray and Dave. Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, William and Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain, and Kings of Leon‘s Followill brothers have the battle scars to prove it.

Continue reading ‘Sound And Vision: Celebrity Feuds — Pop Is a Battlefield, World War II’

Hayley Williams, lead singer of the band Paramore, possesses an incredible voice. Not only is she naturally talented, she’s worked hard on her voice with coach Brett Manning since she was  thirteen years old. It is clear that these lessons have taught her control, and have strengthened her vocals. But while the kind of strength, passion and personality which Hayley portrays onstage have aided her music career, they’ve also resulted in negative effects offstage.

Hayley has consistently stressed to the public that she wants people to care about the band as a whole, but she still comes across as the band’s shining star. With her spunky attitude, ever-changing hair color and her powerhouse voice, fans cannot ignore her. The band’s songs are often composed of pretty standard rock progressions, but the way that she attacks every note with precision sets them apart from other acts. Additionally, her strong voice allows her opportunities which the other band members cannot take part in—a recording contract with Atlantic Records and the guest spot on B.o.B‘s hit song “Airplanes” for example.

Back in December 2010, rumors of her overbearing voice surfaced after original members Josh and Zac Farro left the band and issued an exit statement which alleged that the band had become all about Hayley. The brothers said that they could no longer put up with what they called a “manufactured band” and made it clear that they felt their own voices could not be heard while in Paramore. And while the Farro brothers had always seemed like crucial ingredients in the band’s success, Hayley and remaining members Taylor York and Jeremy Davis decided to proceed without Josh and Zac. Nothing could stop Hayley from moving forward and continuing to show what a sensation she is. And the successful release of their first single without the Farro brothers, “Monster” proves the point.

Continue reading ‘Vocal Points: Lead Singer Syndrome Strikes Again?’

Sonny and Cher. Britney and Justin. Meg and Jack White. Nothing lasts forever. Well, almost. There’s one inseparable pair that’s likely to survive until the end of time: sunny summer weather and pop music. What would these dog days be without the perfect soundtrack? Possibly, over and done with. Hello, autumn!

“California Gurls” by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg ruled both the airwaves and the charts last Memorial Day to Labor Day, refusing to go down until the temperature did. This year’s girl of summer: Adele, thanks to her No. 1 hit “Rolling in the Deep.” But even if Adele isn’t quite your thing (nor Lady Gaga, nor Perry, who’s once again making heat waves in 2011), ’tis the season for musical memories that will last a lifetime—or at least until next year when beach weather once again rolls around.

What are the biggest summer of ’11 pop trends? Keep reading…

Sisters are doing it for themselves—again. Last year’s Top 10 list in Billboard magazine’s Songs of the Summer 1985-2010 featured only three female artists, and each one, Katy Perry, Rihanna and Hayley Williams, had a boy on the side (Snoop Dogg, Eminem and B.o.B., respectively). Though so many of pop’s leading ladies recently had been standing by their men or whatever last-minute remix cohort could get them a shot at No. 1, this season, the most successful ones are going it alone. Rihanna and Beyoncé may be struggling with their latest pair of solo efforts, but Lady Gaga already has had three Top 10 solo hits from the Born This Way album, including the summer-anthem contender “The Edge of Glory,” and Adele didn’t need any guest rappers to keep “Rolling in the Deep” at No. 1 for seven weeks (as of Billboard’s Hot 100 dated July 2).

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj, who apparently has never met an artist with whom she wouldn’t collaborate, finally has scored a Top 10 single of her own with “Your Love.” And after enlisting Kanye West to help lift “E.T.” all the way to the top, Perry is carrying the weight of “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” hit No. 5 from the Teenage Dream album, all on her slender shoulders. Deborah Gibson, Corey Feldman, Kenny G, Hanson, Rebecca Black and two guys from Glee all pop up in the video, but the song itself is a one-woman show.

It takes two (or three or four) to make a hit go right. The women on top may be spending the summer alone (at least on record), but they are pretty much the only ones. Last year, more than half of Billboard’s top summer songs paired singers with rappers. This year, if two’s company, three and four is, too. Pitbull is getting by with a little help from three friends (Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer) on his current hit, “Give Me Everything.” The duo LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” has Lauren Bennett and GoonRock on the guest list. Jennifer Lopez had Pitbull and Katy Perry had Kanye West on their respective spring holdovers, “On the Floor” and the already mentioned “E.T.”, while the Black Eyed Peas have each other on “Just Can’t Get Enough.”

If you want to be a boy of summer, learn how to rap. Bruno Mars might get by on hit after hit by swinging sweetly (which he does once again on “Lazy Song,” his latest Top 5 single), but Chris Brown, one of contemporary R&B’s strongest male singers, spent all of his recent Top 10 comeback single, “Look at Me Now,” rapping alongside Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. And even before he performed with Ludacris on the CMT Awards, Jason Aldean already had a hit with “Dirt Road Anthem,” on which he performed the rap himself. Now the remix featuring Ludacris doing the rap is in danger of becoming the first country-rap collaboration to top Billboard’s Hot 100. Maybe Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” would have had more staying power if Chris Martin had broken into a rap. It’s not too late for the currently ubiquitous Lil Wayne to give a brother a helping hand.

Groove is in the heart (and all over the charts). So you think you can dance? Then you’re in luck. Nearly every song in the Top 20 of the Hot 100 works just as well under the strobe lights as on the radio. The aformentioned LMFAO has a huge international hit with “Party Rock Anthem,” a track whose video features shuffling, a dance that originated in, of all places, Melbourne, Australia. Meanwhile, after escorting Jennifer Lopez into the Top 10 with “On the Floor,” rapper Pitbull, still on the floor, has gone even higher with “Give Me Everything.” This time his dance partners are Afrojack, Nayer and Ne-Yo, an artist previously best known for silky soul singing, but if you can’t beat ‘em, get down with ‘em.

Teenage dreams are still coming true. Last year when “California Gurls” was topping the charts, who would have guessed that Perry still would be putting out the hits from Teenage Dream one year later? As party rock anthems go, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” is my pick for the summer of 2011, but musical hangovers can be just as brutal as alcohol-related ones. Will we remember “Last Friday Night” in the morning? Definitely. But come autumn, “Last Friday Night” already might be a distant non-memory, Perry will be on to the sixth hit single from Teenage Dream (Peacock?), and we’ll probably all still be “Rolling in the Deep.”

With Shia LeBouf, explosions, robots and more explosions, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is guaranteed to be a huge summer blockbuster. But even though we’re pumped for the latest installment in the Transformers franchise—and believe us, we are—we’re almost more intrigued by the soundtrack, which features the first single from Paramore since Josh and Zac Farro left the group in December.

For those who have forgotten (or never cared in the first place), the Farro brothers quit Paramore amid a swirl of controversy at the end of 2010, calling the band a sham, and frontwoman Hayley Williams “a manufactured product of a major label.” (You can read their full statement on Josh’s blog.) It might seem tough to recover from the kind of bad publicity the Farros saddled the band with, but their new single “Monster” sounds just as raw and Paramore-esque as any of their material when the brothers were still members, and Williams just told BBC Radio 1 that they plan to release a new album in early 2012.

Of course, Paramore are far from the first band to make a triumphant return after a rocky lineup change. Remember a little album called Back in Black? AC/DC made what is to this day the second highest-selling album of all time, and they did it after the untimely death of frontman Bon Scott. Can you even imagine a world without “Hells Bells” or “You Shook Me All Night Long”? Scott may have appeared on six AC/DC releases before Back in Black, but his replacement Brian Johnson helped create what is arguably the most iconic record from the Australian rockers. And they’re not the only classic band that’s had to survive personnel messes— Guns and Roses have had an almost constantly rotating lineup since 1985, and Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd have had more than 20 different lineups since 1964. Courtney Love is no stranger to change; since 1989 she’s remained the only consistent staple of Hole while drummers and bassists have come and gone. Even longtime lead guitarist Eric Erlandson, who was with the group for their first 10 years, declined to be a part of their 2009 reunion and actually tried to keep Love from using the Hole name.

Sometimes bands can do more than just survive a lineup change, using a bit of new blood to actually improve. Take Sid Vicious—the infamous bassist’s name is synonymous with the Sex Pistols despite the fact that he wasn’t even one of the original members of the band. Of course, there are times when a change in the lineup can bring… well, let’s just say “mixed results.” Frontman Michael Hutchence of the Australian rock group INXS died in 1997, and in 2005 his band embarked on a search for a new lead singer on the TV show Rock Star: INXS. But despite the program’s popularity both of the albums recorded with new singer J.D. Fortune earned reviews that were mediocre at best, and many INXS fans thought the show dishonored Hutchence’s memory. (Two Australian radio hosts called the program “broadband urination on Michael Hutchence’s grave.” Ouch.)

And then there are the occasions when a member’s loss is just too great for the group to overcome. Led Zepellin decided to disband in 1980 following the death of legendary drummer John Bonham, despite a surge of  rumors that the rockers were replacing him. In a statement, the group said, “We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.” Nirvana made the same decision after Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994. While former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has proven to be an outstanding vocalist for the Foo Fighters, replacing a singer who has been hailed as the voice of a generation would have been a tall order.

But it seems like more and more often, bands will lose a member or two and decide to forge ahead. Florida-based punks Against Me! are selling out shows along their current summer tour, even though their lineup looks nothing like the one that started putting out cassette demos in ’97. Several longtime members of Taking Back Sunday have parted ways with the band over the years, yet their self-titled album—out June 28—is one of the most highly anticipated rock releases of the year. In fact, bands like U2, Radiohead or Green Day that have had a consistent lineup through their career are the exception rather than the rule these days. But judging from the work some of these bands have done after weathering massive lineup changes, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

The Good

Amy Winehouse wants live like the bombshell she is

Bad news for Amy Winehouse, but good news for those prone to schadenfreude, the singer’s diaries from when she was 17-years-old were found in a dumpster in London this week. On the teenager’s to do list: buy a flat in London, buy a car, get a gym membership, get teeth fixed, and (ahem) “live like the bombshell I really am.” Well, we’re pretty sure she has a flat.

The Bad

Teena Marie dies

Soul singer Teena Marie died this week in her home at the age of 54. The singer’s cause of death remains unknown, but her publicist stated that she had suffered a grand mal seizure a month ago. Teena Marie, born Mary Christine Brockert, was the protégée of funk legend Rick James, with whom she would go on to have a turbulent personal and professional relationship. In a scene dominated by African American artists, the singer rose to the top of the charts with R&B hits like “Lovergirl” and “Square Biz”—earning her the nickname “The Ivory Queen of Soul.” R.I.P.

Departing Paramore members spill the beans

If you were wondering why Paramore founding members and brothers Josh and Zac Farro left the band this month, wonder no more. In a blog post entitled “Tetelestai” Josh reveals all his reasons, from Hayley Williams’ overbearing dad to unruly bandmates. Some of his points seem valid, a lot seem preachy. Probably the biggest stretch is Farro’s complaint that William’s lyrics in “Careful” (“The truth never set me free so I did it myself”) are “negative” and contradict what it says in the Bible. Thou shalt not be negative, Hayley.

Bob Dylan prankster to pay for pizza prank

After a prankster phoned in an order for 178 pizzas, claiming they were for Bob Dylan, a New Jersey pizzeria found itself left in the lurch to the tune of $3,900. The man who placed the order promised employees a big tip if they stayed open late to make the pizzas—which were supposed to be for an after party for Dylan’s show at the Mullins Center—but never showed up to collect his order. This week the pizzeria reached a settlement with the jerkface. The moral of the story? Don’t mess with Dylan.

The Ugly

Talk about adding insult to injury. Two robbers were arrested in Connecticut this week after they broke into 50 Cent’s home. One of the perpetrators was found in a closet, drinking the rapper’s wine. So much for his theory that you can find them in the club with a bottle full of bub.

Miscellany

• Bon Jovi highest ticket earner of 2010
• Gwen Stefani, Steven Tyler and more pay tribute to Paul McCartney
• Lily Allen is engaged to boyfriend
• Rihanna is a single lady
• Lady Gaga The Fame Monster best selling album of 2010
• Chris Brown will collaborate with Justin Bieber
• Alanis Morissette gives birth to baby boy
• Leann Rimes gets engaged
• Billy Corgan wants to dangle his own carrot
• Elton John becomes a dad at 62

This year was a curious one in GRAMMY world, with some heavy hitters being shut out and some less popular acts finally getting a chance to shine. The ‘Record of the Year’ category is dominated by urban pop, with just one band—CMT Artist of the Year Lady Antebellum (nominated in six categories)—bringing up the rear with their country album Need You Now. Eminem leads the pack with ten nominations for his smash success Recovery, landing on the list for ‘Best Rap Album,’ and “Love The Way You Lie”, featuring Rihanna, scoring nominations for ‘Record of The Year,’ ‘Song of The Year,’ ‘Best Rap Song’ and ‘Best Rap Collaboration.’

Other hip hop standouts include Cee-Lo’s three nominations for “[Forget] You” for ‘Record of The Year’ and ‘Song of The Year’ and ‘Best Urban Performance’.  Jay-Z made the list for ‘Best Rap Album’ with Blueprint 3 and again with newlyweds Alicia Keys (with “Empire State of Mind” up for ‘Best Rap Song’ and “Best Rap Collaboration”) and Swizz Beatz (with “Onto The Next One” contending for ‘Best Rap by Duo’ and ‘Best Rap Song’). Keys’ album, Elements of Freedom was shockingly snubbed from all categories, despite its heavy radio play.  Swizz Beats is also nominated for “Fancy,” his collaboration with Drake, whose debut album,  Thank Me Later earned him a nomination for ‘Best Rap Album,’ while his single “Over”scored him a bid for ‘Best Solo Rap Performance.’

On the pop front, Katy Perry is the front-runner with four nominations for her album, Teenage Dream.  Ke$ha’s debut,  Animal, failed to garner any attention for the saucy newcomer and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” popped up on the shortlist for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal’ but was slighted in the categories of  ‘Song and Record of The Year.’  “Dance In The Dark” earned Gaga a ‘Best Dance Recording’ nom and “Telephone,” her duet with Beyoncé, earned her a nomination for ‘Best Pop Collaboration.’

B.o.B fared well with his debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, earning him five nominations including ‘Record of The Year’ and ‘Best Rap Album’ while his single, “Nothin On You” featuring Bruno Mars is making a run for ‘Best Rap Song’,  ‘Best Rap Collaboration’ and ‘ Record of The Year’. B.o.B’s duet with Paramore front-woman, Hayley Williams is also up for ‘Best Pop Collaboration.’ Meanwhile, Mars came in with seven nominations for his work with B.o.B., his single, “Just The Way You Are” and his work as producer with The Smeezingtons who are up for the ‘Producer of The Year’ title.

‘The ‘Best New Artist’ category seems the most diverse with contender Justin Beiber going head to head with Florence and the Machine, Drake, Mumford & Sons, and Esperanza Spalding (who was curiously excluded for any noms in the Jazz category) for the honor. Usher’s, Raymond V Raymond will go against Chris Brown’s, Grafitti for ‘Best Contemporary R&B Album.’

This is the year of new beginnings. In addition to  Chris Brown’s nomination, fellow tabloid darlings Lee Ann Rimes and Fantasia, whose troubling private lives made very public headlines, end their year on a happier note with nods for the former in ‘Best Female Country Vocal Performance’ and the latter in ‘Best Female R&B Vocal Performance’ and ‘Best R&B Song’ for “Bittersweet.”

There’s a good chance we’ll see last year’s ‘Best New Artist’ winner Zac Brown Band on stage again this year, this time sans stick puppet—2009 addition Clay Cook was unable to accept the award with the band for their win last year because he did not have a credit on their first album. They’re nominated for ‘Best Country Performance,’ ‘Best Country Song’ and ‘Best Country Album.’ Other country favorites Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Jewel also received nominations.

No huge surprises found among artists in the rock categories, with multiple nominations for veterans Jeff Beck (‘Best Rock Album,’ ‘Best Rock Performance’ with Joss Stone and ‘Best Rock Instrumental’) and Neil Young (‘Best Rock Song,’ ‘Best Rock Album’ and Best Solo Rock Performance’) while Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, John Mayer earning one nom each.  Hard rock and metal showcased no new artist nominations either: Ozzy Osborne, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Iron Maiden, Korn, Megadeth, Lamb of God and Slayer.

For the complete list of nominees across all 100 categories, visit Grammy.com

By Cortney Wills with additional reporting by Paula Gould

Cortney Wills is a pop culture journalist born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She has lived in LA, Chicago and NYC and enjoys all things entertainment.

It’s been ten years since the release of Punk Goes Metal, the first of a nine-disc set of cover compilations released by Fearless Records. Today, the tenth installment in the series, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3, hits shelves.

Upon first view of the tracklisting, you may be surprised to see which artists appear on this record. While the early Punk Goes… albums featured scene staples like Yellowcard, The Starting Line, Thrice and Taking Back Sunday, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3‘s lineup includes few artists that the average music listener would know (and certainly no bands that truly qualify as “punk”). The question from here on out, then, is: Can the underdogs pull their weight?

The album starts off with a cover of Jay Sean‘s “Down” by “crunkcore” duo Breathe Carolina. Unfortunately for Breathe Carolina, the very mention of “crunkcore” will be enough to keep many from giving this track a chance.

Crunkcore duo Breathe Carolina open the record with their cover of Jay Sean's "Down"

“Down” does set the tone for most of the record, though, which reflects the hottest trend in pop rock: the electronic-meets-screamo style made famous by bands like Attack Attack! and 3OH!3. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, be warned: you probably won’t like most of Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3.

The third track, a cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Bad Romance,” comes to us from OurStage band Artist Vs Poet. Though it’s been covered a million times already, this is a solid version of it and remains very true to the original.

Another highlight of the record is Mayday Parade‘s cover of Jason Derülo‘s “In My Head.” Vocalist Derek Sanders can hit all the high notes without relying on autotune, and the track as a whole is refreshingly straight forward and not overproduced.

We Came As Romans' cover of "My Love" might just give JT a run for his money

After the harmony-laden pop vocals of Sparks the Rescue‘s cover of “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum fade out, you may be caught off-guard by the growls of We Came As Romans vocalist David Stephens. Romans’ cover of “My Love” actually ends the record nicely, though, with clean vocalist Kyle Pavone’s Justin Timberlake-like croon going head-to-head with breakdowns and synth riffs.

Unfortunately, covers do not always do the original song justice (you’ll probably find yourself skipping The Ready Set‘s bland version of B.o.B and Hayley Williams’ “Airplanes”), but if you’re a fan of teen “popcore,” you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised with this collection.

Pick up Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3 in record stores and online today and check out Mayday Parade’s cover of “In My Head” below!

Tracklisting:

1. Breathe Carolina – “Down” (originally recorded by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne)
2. Woe, Is Me – “Hot ‘N Cold” (originally recorded by Katy Perry)
3. Artist Vs Poet – “Bad Romance” (originally recorded by Lady GaGa)
4. Mayday Parade – “In My Head” (originally recorded by Jason Derülo)
5. Asking Alexandria – “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (originally recorded by Akon)
6. This Century – “Paper Planes” (originally recorded by M.I.A.)
7. The Word Alive – “Heartless” (originally recorded by Kanye West)
8. Family Force 5 – “Bulletproof” (originally recorded by La Roux)
9. Of Mice & Men – “Blame It” (originally recorded by Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain)
10. Miss May I – “Run This Town” (originally recorded by Jay-Z ft. Kanye West and Rihanna)
11. The Ready Set – “Airplanes” (originally recorded by B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams)
12. Cute Is What We Aim For – “Dead And Gone” (originally recorded by T.I. ft. Justin Timberlake)
13. Sparks The Rescue – “Need You Now” (originally recorded by Lady Antebellum)
14. We Came As Romans – “My Love” (originally recorded by Justin Timberlake ft. T.I.)

For discerning music fans, there’s no more frightening experience than visiting the gym. Not only does it mean your pasty-white thighs are exposed to outside air for the first time in weeks, but you’re generally faced with two choices: bring your iPod, and experience the certain thrill of constantly re-stuffing a white piece of plastic into your ear while trying to figure out the best way to wrap a cable around a leg-extension machine. Or be subjected to 24 Hour Fitness’s satellite radio—which no doubt is playing techno, or hip hop or Top 40, or, well, anything other than then new Arcade Fire album.

Thankfully, some mainstream music isn’t as horrible as others—or, conversely, is just so horrible that it becomes music you want to run away from, which is exactly why the treadmill was invented. Below is a (totally subjective) list of songs that you actually want to hear in the gym:

1. “Cooler Than Me” (Mike Posner): A smooth-voiced, overproduced popster sings about NOT getting laid, for a change; you can relate.
2. “Airplane” (B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams): A slow-building hip hop song with a soaring chorus from the Paramore girl— and an instrumental track that, sans drums, you could convince yourself is actually unreleased, sampled Radiohead.
3. “Bulletproof” (La Roux): Perhaps the least-guilty guilty pleasure of them all: originally an 80s-sounding indie-dance hit, now a remixed techno classic; if you do have your iPod, check out Steel Train’s acoustic-rock re-re-reinvention.
4. “OMG” (Usher featuring Wil.I.Am): Nerdspeak from the Black Eyed Peas guy and that dude who dances like Michael Jackson, at exactly the rate of your bike-pedaling.
5. “Whip My Hair” (Willow Smith): There is something totally wrong (and yet, alarmingly right) about Will Smith’s pre-teen progeny singing the best stripper song of the year. Seriously.
6. “Rockstar” (Nickelback): Actually, no. This is the worst song ever recorded.
7. “Love the Way You Lie” (Eminem featuring Rihanna): Fortunately, a great chorus; unfortunately, you’re the only person in the gym who understands the irony in Rihanna singing the lyric “I like the way it hurts.”
8. Any remix with “Sweet Disposition” (The Temper Trap) or “Use Somebody” (Kings of Leon): the more techno-y, the better: “Cause you know what they’re supposed to sound like.”
9. “Dynamite” (Taio Cruz): A no-apologies ode to self-awesomeness, which can be good for self-motivation, especially if you yourself are also awesome.
10. “I’m Yours” (Jason Mraz): No matter how overplayed (or how many Overstock.com commercials it makes you think of), there’s something ultra-satisfying about watching all the sweaty people around you try to pretend they’re not singing along too.

By Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller is the LA editor of Thrillist.com and has been writing about music professionally for over a decade for publications including the Los Angeles Times, Relix and Esquire.com.