Must List 2009: Music

The Black Eyed Peas
Must Party Starters

NAMES/AGES
Fergie, 34; will.i.am, 34; Taboo, 34; apl.de.ap, 34
WHY THEM
The Peas' pop-rap has always sounded good on dance floors, but for their fifth album, The E.N.D., they gave themselves a new goal: Craft a series of up-tempo electro jams that hit every bit as hard as the records spun by the hottest club DJs. ''In 1992, you were sitting down, trying to write dope-ass quotables and punchlines,'' says will.i.am. ''Now you're making sets to peak the crowd, like, 'I know they're gonna freak out when I flip this!'''
RHYME TIME
So how does Fergie compose such unforgettable couplets as ''I'm so 3008/You're so 2000-and-late,'' from this summer's smash hit ''Boom Boom Pow''? ''A lot of my input comes from freestyles,'' she says with a laugh. ''Or we'll just be in the studio joking around.''
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
As recording sessions for The E.N.D. wound down, the Peas took a few key trips to the hair salon. Fergie emerged freshly brunet, while Will cut off his signature dreadlocks. ''Will called me, like, 'Yo, Tab, you know I love you, right? We're gonna have to do something about your long hair,''' recalls Taboo, who agreed to a trim. Adds Will: ''We gotta keep 'em f---ing guessing, and wrong all the time they guess.''
NEXT
Expect The E.N.D.'s second single, the euphoric party anthem ''I Gotta Feeling,'' to reach full-on omnipresence any day now.
ON FERGIE'S MUST LIST
Kid Cudi. ''We did a ['Boom Boom Pow'] remix with him, and I can't wait to see what else he comes up with.''

Maxwell
Must Comeback

AGE
36
WHY HIM
After a mysterious eight-year absence, the singer returns July 7 with BLACK-summers'night, a powerful dose of heartbroken soul. So where's he been? ''For me to tell you would take eight years,'' Maxwell jokes. ''The short version is, I am a bit of a perfectionist. I was also questioning: 'Is this who I am, going on stage and singing some songs? Do I do something stupid and juvenile, or am I doing something that helps the world?' I struggled with that.''
NEXT
He's already almost done recording two follow-up albums, black-SUMMERS'night and black-summers'NIGHT, that will make up a trilogy.
ON HIS MUST LIST
Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut. ''There's drama there. That album's really speaking to me now, big-time.''

Robert Pattinson and Friends
Must Musical Clique

NAMES/AGES
Robert Pattinson, 23; Bobby Long, 22; Sam Bradley, 22; Marcus Foster, 23
WHY THEM
One of these names you know. The others you might not, but their profiles are quickly rising, thanks to their songwriting work on the still-hot Twilight soundtrack. Bradley co-penned ''Never Think'' with Pattinson, while Long and Foster wrote bonus track ''Let Me Sign.''
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
How did three obscure musicians score such a prominent gig? They had an in: Foster and Bradley went to school with the British actor; Long met the other three at an open-mike night. (Before Twilight, Pattinson was also an aspiring singer.) Despite their friendship, their music is quite different. Bradley favors a rock vibe, Long is more folk-inclined, and Foster owes something to Tom Waits.
THIS DOESN'T SUCK
Bradley was on his way to use the bathroom when Pattinson called to say their song was going to appear in Twilight. ''I p---ed myself,'' he says. Really? ''No.''
NEXT
The trio will reunite at July's TwiCon in Dallas. ''It's going to be mental,'' says Foster. Will Pattinson sit in? ''I wouldn't turn up there if I was him,'' says Long. Foster hopes to record some songs with Pattinson soon: ''It might be my stuff, or his stuff, or some stuff we wrote together.''
ON THEIR MUST LISTS
Long loves rockers the Felice Brothers, while Bradley is a fan of Vancouver singer Shera Kelly. One of Foster's favorite actors is Christopher Walken, whose forthcoming film $5 a Day features another of Foster's songs.