“Party Rock Anthem” LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock (Billboard Hot 100 #3, Week of June 25, 2011)

I think we can safely refer to the Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” as the shot heard ’round the world. That single record seems to have inspired its own sub-genre of outrageously successful dance tunes, all based in a really old-school hip-hop aesthetic of fun and partying. First, there was the electronic blips and thumping bass of “Like a G6.” Now we have the slightly more conventional soundscape of producer GoonRock paired with the frat-boy buffoonery of LMFAO, rounded out by a heretofore unknown British vocalist/model named Lauren Bennett.

There’s something pure and fun that was missing from pop music before BEP hit upon their winning formula. Personally, I don’t have an issue with rough replications of the formula, because I am all for a little good-humored levity in my music.

I am wary, though, that LMFAO toned down their antics and have been generously rewarded with a worldwide megahit. I don’t need them to yell “shots” 50 times in a row necessarily, but without their profane edge, what we really have are a couple of well-connected goofballs (these two are Berry Gordy’s son and grandson) without any jaw-dropping lyrical skills.

In other words, I would like them to continue to rap loudly and carry a big schtick.