Hello Fellow Music Aficionados! It’s a great fall for music. First a recap. Rockin summer tunes that I always turned up when they came on: Rihanna - “Disturbia”, Chris Brown - “Forever”, Ne-Yo - “Closer”, and Metro Station - “Shake It”. Am I right? Thanks Pop-gods for the unadulterated, syrupy joy these songs dripped, er…delivered.

Have you heard Brooke Fraser yet? Her song (and video!) “Shadowfeet” is stunning. She’s a New Zealander who emerged from the Hillsong movement, and is now doing awesome singer/songwriter gloriosity. You’ll thank me for this one. I’m still digging Francesca Battistelli’s Paper Heart CD (way to go Ian Eskelin!) and Krystal Meyers keeps turning my head with her dance-pop infectiousness, Make Some Noise.

New tunes I’m excited about: Snow Patrol - “Take Back The City”, Killers - “Human”, Fall Out Boy - “I Don’t Care” & “Cooperstown”, Christina Aguilera - “Keeps Getting Better”, Kevin Rudolf & Lil’ Wayne - “Let It Rock.”

New albums that have me talking to others about them: Keane - Perfect Symmetry, Brandon Heath - What If We, Jon McLaughlin - OK Now, Lady Gaga - The Fame, James Morrisson - Song For You, Truths For Me, Marc Broussard - Keep Coming Back

Videos I’m loving: Staind - “Believe”, Lenka - “The Show”, and Lifehouse - “Broken” (my personal Song of the Year)

I hope these nuggets get placed in your head so the next time you hear about one of these artists, you’ll remember, “Oh yeah, It’s Just Pop liked that one,” and maybe you’ll take an extra good listen. That’s my prayer for you, my precious pop prodigies.

Welcome back Music Lovers! Steering you through the turbulant waters of popdom, it’s my pleasure to tell you about some awesome sounds that are inspiring me lately.

First off, I have finally found my soundtrack for the summer. It’s the deliciously delightful Jason Mraz’s new project, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. This is the kind of record you play while you and a gang of good-looking friends hang out by the beach, drinking diet cokes, or whatever the good-looking people are drinking these days. He alternates sassy, slappy horn-driven jams (ala EW&F), with laid-back, nowhere-to-go, acoustic melodic pop gems. And more. Jason keeps surprising with new twists and production turns, without seeming schizo. This is for you if you like what the uber-laidback Jack Jackson has done, but wonder what he might be like if he actually got a good night’s sleep. Primo pop.

Hello Again Music Lovers! Yes, I as well, am feeling a bit overwhelmed these days with all the great music flying around the Interweb. I hope these little blentries will help you charter the stormy seas of our Idol-infested musical waters.

Remember when Lindsey Lohan was the Miley Cyrus of the late 90s? That was awesome. Hollywood’s 2nd Favorite Trainwreck (Awww, how sweet!) has a fierce new track, “Bossy,” from an upcoming album. And I’m loving it. Very catchy and fun, with brill-pop lyrics like, “I’m just a little bossy, I like it how I like it, I get it when I want it” and “Trust me, you want me happy.” Shine on, H2FT, you pop-mess doll-girl.

Donna Summer has always been one of my favorites—her voice gives me chill-bumps on my goosebumps. On 5/20 she’s releasing a new CD called Crayons, a dance/pop collection that is being marketed as her come back.

Hello Music Lovers! It’s been another fine week between my ears and I’m thrilled as ever to report in on the things that made my ear hairs especially stand up on end. (Sorry, that’s gross—yet hilarious to me.) Next CD to add to your collection is Madonna’s new Hard Candy. Dude, this CD is sweet! It feels like she took all the really fun, popalicious elements from Confessions and Music and then mashed em all together with the slickness and white-girl-dancing-in-the-hood-urbanosity of her debut (i.e. “Holiday” or “Lucky Star”) to create this tasty collection. I’d love to give some props to Timbaland or Timberlake for their contributions, but ultimately, Madge herself gets the credit for all the joy I’m feeling. See kids, being 50 can be fun!!

Other big news from one of my favorite groups, Coldplay is offering a free download of a new song, “Violet Hill” from their upcoming project Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends.