See also: Super Bowl commercials: Elton John, Flava Flav, Echo and the Bunnymen and more and Video: M.I.A. flips off Super Bowl audience during halftime show

Judging by the voluminous groans echoing across the country, word is spreading that Madonna will be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, alongside Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.

Coincidentally, ahem, both women are featured on Madonna's new single, "Give Me All Your Luvin'," the video of which premiered just a bit ago, and the decision to give the trio top billing for halftime reeks of either "synergistic" corporate marketing or someone's truly epic fail in the decision making department.

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Disney yanked this shirt off the shelves after they discovered the design ripped off Joy Division.

​It's really hard to be a successful corporate retailer. Not only do you have to sell truckloads of stuff to make money, but you have to keep track of whose stuff it is you're even selling. Sigh. It's even harder when you appropriate a design by a band that's really popular thinking, "that'll sell," but then you realize after the fact that the originators might be mad about you using the things they created without permission.

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If I hear that song one more time...

"Man, I used to really love that song until it got played to death!" How many times have you heard somebody say that? It's a legitimate gripe, especially if you work in place where the radio is played day and night. You inevitably suffer hearing the same goddamn songs hundreds of times a day. It's even worse around the holidays. Really, it's a wonder you don't read about more work-related massacres around this time at the hands of poor souls who just couldn't take it anymore.

But the larger context of this quandary, the complaint that a once-beloved song was ruined by the radio, speaks to a larger dynamic of how we absorb pop music: It becomes our identity. Whenever a song or a band goes from relative obscurity to household juggernaut, there will inevitably be a group of people who will lament the act's popularity.

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​By now, anyone who's ever blogged -- which is likely most of you reading this -- knows that the stories that took the most time, the really important ones, were often around the bottom when it came to traffic, pageviews, unique visitors, etc. Meanwhile, the ol' bacon Nativity scene is doing gang-busters and your 2,500-word Q & A with that interesting producer is putzing along. What makes a post zoom is a strange alchemy of Google searches, Facebook shares, social bookmarking and of course, a good piece of content.

So, know that before you view the top ten Backbeat posts -- in terms of traffic -- of 2011.

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​Bands break up all the time. This is an established fact, and depending upon how many of your favorite band's original members are alive, sane or producing concept albums, it can be a welcome one. The only difference this year is the purely unfair share of fallen rock soldiers that will have ended with it. The announcements of their demise came quickly and with a strange range on the surprise spectrum: Some of 2011's dead bands ended before their time (LCD Soundsystem), a lot of them ended after their time (R.E.M.), and some of them past even the point where they should be reasonably allowed to continue to exist (t.A.T.u.). Below, Backbeat put together the year's five hardest hits to the industry, accompanied by five songs to make you even sadder about your loss.

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​Here are two quick lists to warm you up on this snow day; the ten best club shows and local shows (the two aren't mutually exclusive, by any means) of 2011, as picked by Backbeat writers and ranked by music editor Dave Herrera. Find our ten best arena concerts of 2011 and feel free to peruse all our concert reviews. By the time you're finished reading, the snow will have melted.

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How does one go about defining the best electronic music shows of the year? A lot goes into it, trust me. There is the production aspect, which looks upon the lighting choreography and the overall visual spectacle. Then, there is the actual music, which volleys between producers and DJs, both of which are respectable in their own light. We've compiled a list of the top ten electronic shows which covers a lot of this genre melding scene of electronically produced music.

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Eric Gruneisen

Tyler, the Creator at the Ogden Theatre this past October

​There were so many hip-hop shows and concerts this year, it was hard to keep count. The shows of note, though, were bangers and crowd pleasers and showcased dynamic artistry. With so many epic moments (?uestLove and Jazzy Jeff at Beta, anyone?), it was hard to narrow it down, but we've compiled a list of the top ten best hip-hop concerts of the year. From Waka Flocka Flame at Club Arriba to Raekwon at the Summit Music Hall, hip-hop was all over the place this year, and it won't stop, cause it can't stop!

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​Another year is coming to a close, and it's going to be remembered for some stellar concerts. All week, we'll be running lists of our favorites from the past year, beginning with this one: Best arena concerts of 2011. Page down to see which shows made the cut. (Click on the band name for a full review and more photos.) Look for a rundown of our favorite club-sized and local shows in the coming days.

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Britney loves some bass.

​With dubstep's surging (and some might say waning) popularity, it's not surprising to hear explosive dubstep breakdowns bleeding into pop. Turn on Top 40 radio today, and there's a great chance you'll hear dubstep elements borrowed in one form or another to create a hook, verse, chorus or bridge. Below are six pop songs built on dubstep's biggest hallmark, the wobbly bass.

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