From stock market charts to music parodies, the economy definitely has some rhythm, and maybe that’s why a few new projects that are taking music as an inspiration, both literally and figuratively, as public media covers the economy.

A big “ewww!” was my first reaction to this week’s PRX EconomyBeat podcast, which takes us dumpster diving behind an organic grocery store in Detroit, Michigan. But hearing from a woman who says she’s only spent $50 in the past five years on food? Priceless.

At The American Prospect, the Beat the Press blog is taking a critical look at how various media outlets are reporting on economic issues. One recent post from Dean Baker, co-director of the http://www.cepr.net/ Center for Economic and Policy Research, asks tough questions about the coverage of the homebuyer tax credit:

Remarkably, no one even wants to talk about the issue. The $8,000 tax credit is equal to just under 5 percent of the median house price. This certainly was one of the factors in the recent turnaround of house prices. Is it a good policy for the government to temporarily prop up prices so that people buying now are likely to sell at lower real prices in the future?

For some real musical stylings about the economy, the latest installment from In the Loop at Minnesota Public Radio has Jeff Horwich crooning about how it feels to be on top of the financial world as a CEO.