"Paramore"

Credit: Fueled By Ramen

Especially when it comes to music made by women, rock bands are frequently described in terms of their infancy or when they're all-grown-up. Rarely is there an album that so perfectly encapsulates the in-between, the space where Paramore now occupies with the release of their self-titled set out this week.

Queens Of The Stoneage will release their first album in six years on June 4. Judging from first single "My God Is the Sun," it will be worth the wait.

Just listen to those crunchy guitars. You could spread butter on them and a sell 'em at Whole Foods but, like,   the hard rock version of Whole Foods, which I think may be opening in Norway later this year. Anyway. Every part is exacted and I feel an amphitheatrical rising in my chest when the bass takes the lead in those first few bars. Josh Homme -- who now goes by Joshua Homme, apparently -- keeps his operatic tenor in the same wheelhouse as ever, but the mix is all gnarls and groove.

Vanessa Hudgen's first song since starring in "Spring Breakers" was much inspired by Spring Break in general. For Selena Gomez' "Come & Get It?" Her new boppy, fun track has some Indian influence.

Check out the Disney star's full-throated singing on "Come & Get It," rife with tablas and adages that are most definitely not about Justin Bieber, according to her interview with Ryan Seacrest. The pop personality was the first to present Gomez' single this morning, and among the first to hear that harmlessly bitter-sweet bridge on the "death of me." It's backed by synths that sound like really little race cars racing.

Dust off your na na na nas and eh eh eh eh eh ehs: this is like Rihanna Lite and will undoubtedly be on all summer long. Is the the first of the 2013 Certified Summer Jams?

"Come & Get It" is off of Gomez' next, as-yet-untitled album, due this summer. The song goes on sale tonight.

Grab your chalk and run crying toward "Demons," The National's new single from forthcoming album "Trouble Will Find Me."

As singer Matt Berninger intimated, the new music seems to deal with the past, and growing older, as the chorus to this wistfully cinematic, chugging track suggest "I stay down with my demons." It name-checks people of his past and sideways glances at the rock band's former album "Alligators."

I'm loving the singing in octave, unison with Berninger's looow baritone, and the strings and piano finale, like Rick Rubin was sitting on and smiling. "Wanna see the sun come up above New York/Oh, everyday I start so great/Then the sunlight dims," he sings. Everyone shivers.

This little heartbreaker is the second track on 13-song "Trouble Will Find Me," due May 21 via XL. It was recorded in Rhinebeck, NY, produced by the band and mixed by Craig Silvey, Peter Katis, and Marcus Paquin.

Danny Brown

Credit: AP Photo

N.W.A.'s "Express Yourself" centers on freedom of expression and radio censorship. Madonna's "Express Yourself" is about empowerment and never settling. Danny Brown's "Express Yourself" is about bouncing asses.

To be fair, the Trampy-produced track is inspired by Diplo's own butt-empowering "Express Yourself" featuring Nicky Da B. "Spread your legs and watch your back," it vamps. Back-watching is actually fairly difficult, particularly when one is on the floor...

So anyway, Immaculate Noise favorite Brown has the perfect alto whine in his rhymes for the bumping, purring tone of the track, like he and the keys are in call-and-response.

Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming "Great Gatsby" film adaptation will boast some of the A-list-iest of A-lister actors, and the same goes for its soundtrack. Jay-Z was roped in as executive producer and supervisor on the film's soundtrack, so as you can imagine, he showed up, his wife Beyonce showed up and new songs from big names like Florence + The Machine made the cut.

A new trailer for the film dropped this morning, and it includes Beyonce and Andre 3000 previously confirmed cover of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black"; a fresh track from Lana Del Rey called "Young and Beautiful"; and Florence's new "Over the Love." "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful," she sings. (Ugh, Lana.)

Bryan Ferry and his Orchestra show up twice, including for one take on Bey and Hov's "Crazy in Love" with Immaculate Noise favorite Emeli Sande taking the lead.

The members of Daft Punk like to hold onto their relative anonymity, yet want to promote the hell out of their next studio effort "Random Access Memories." So now they've launched a video channel to feature the album's various collaborators. Problem solved.

Up first to bat: legendary dance producer, label founder and studio-starter giorgio-moroder" class="autolink">Giorgio Moroder, who regales viewers with tales on the come-uppance of dance music, working with disco queen Donna Summer and mentions he's working on a little "rap" with Daft Punk on "Memories."

And like Daft Punk itself, the clip has a high production value, and is nicely educational! Pencils down.

Breaking news alert: Flaming Lips include nudity in new music video.

Just kidding, that's what they've always done. "Ashes in the Air" features bits, plus a baby, a meat-grinder and all the corners of your imagination you loathe.

In the music video for "High School," Nicki Minaj plays the lady-friend of a Latino crime boss, and Lil Wayne shows up as a dude who does business with him. The Young Money imprint founder is soon tussling around a bed with the Young Money signee. I assume they're playing Parcheesi, and both are winning.

So naturally Minaj spends the video in bandages masquerading as dresses and strings serving as swimsuits. Dress code for at the palace for men (well, Wayne, as per usual) is jeans-casual. Toward the end, director Benny Boom attempts to integrate a plot; but judging from Twitter, all anybody really wants is a Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne sex tape.

Like in several Weezy music videos, Minaj and Wayne resolve into a "this is just a video shoot" posture, bringing the fantasy of mudflap girl poses and swinging slow-motion dreadlocks to a close. Wayne even brought a couple of other extra girls along for this steamy ride, because he has just that much love to give.