Ben Folds: In preparation for the melodramatic piano pop singer’s Seattle show, (he hits the Paramount Theater on Thursday, May 14) I’ve been listening to material from all eight of his albums. The guy’s got an incredible knack for composing unique hook-laden melodies. Right now I’m loving his ode to fucked up relationships “You Don’t Know Me” featuring Regina Spektor. But hands down, my favorite Folds’ recording has gotta be his cover of Dr. Dre’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit.” It’s fucking brilliant. And it never fails to crack me up. Bloc Party, Intimacy: The U.K. hailing quartet’s third album is more electronica-oriented than their previous work and utlizies multilayered vocals and instrumentation a la the Chemical Brothers. I actually prefer their new style. Frontman Kele Okereke delivers the highly personal tracks with a compelling intensity. Last night I fell asleep with Intimacy’s somber standout song “Signs” on repeat: “I see signs all the time/ That you’re not dead, you’re sleeping/ I believe in anything/ That brings you back home to me.” Gorgeous. Myah Marie: Not gonna lie, this is some real bad pop music. Marie, who in the past has sang backup for Britney Spears, sounds exactly like the troubled pop star. Except she’s shamelessly raunchy as fuck. Her reworkings of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” and Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” are more pornographic than they are musical. My girlfriends and I had Marie on repeat while we were beautifying ourselves to hit the town this weekend. Her trashtastic pop is perfect pre-funk material and had us dancing like the rent was due in an hour.