Guardian Music — Your percentage by percentage guide to the year in pop15% At the disco!"So we back in da club" Usher DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love"I'm in the club so I'm gonna do, do, do, do . . ." Taio Cruz Dynamite"Messin' with the baddest chicks in the club" Black Ey... more info

Guardian Music — Wayne Coyne says he doesn't want to spend the next two years playing the same 13 songs. So, just 12 new ones then?The Flaming Lips are planning to create a song a month in 2011, releasing the tracks as downloads, singles or perhaps on, er, cereal box... more info

Guardian Music — Like Tinie and Tinchy, these purveyors of shiny, grime-y R&B have just enough grit. Think of them as a more credible JLSHometown: London.The lineup: Mark, Cairo and Pierre.The background: It was nice to read in the daily industry newsletter CMU an ar... more info

Guardian Music — Raised on hardcore punk, this Justin Vernon lookalike has retreated into haunting, atmospheric acoustic territoryHometown: Dublin.The lineup: James Vincent McMorrow (voice, guitar).The background: If you're in the mood for wintry wistfulness, James V... more info

411 Mania — Giving away downloads works... more info

Guardian Music — (Island)There is an argument that, of late, mainstream hip-hop and R&B has lost its once zealously guarded edge of originality. The genres appear comfortable in a sonic rut – the raveish synthesisers that added an icy edge to Rihanna's Umbrella, Au... more info

Idolator — Responding to fans who want to know why he didn’t release a track with longtime collaborator Missy Elliot on his Shock Value II project, Timbaland (via an uploaded vlog) explains that the album was “a rush project… it wasn’t time yet and I di... more info

USA Today Music — Musicians including Timbaland, Blondie and Bret Michaels are joining top scientists to get people excited by science. more info

Guardian Music — Touted as one of dubstep's new breed, this DJ turns beats, basslines and bursts of 8-bit mania into abstract R&BHometown: Manchester.The lineup: Stephen Gomberg (music, production).The background: Yesterday we got told off by a reader for only writin... more info

Perez Hilton — Then again, who doesn't? Timbaland reached out to his fans in a cool way this week. He posted a video on his Twitter page, answering questions from followers about what he's been up to. Topics ranged from his new free song giveaway to Kanye West. He ... more info