Best Of 2006 - The Guilty Pleasures

Ahhh, guilty pleasures. You shouldn't like them, but you do. Maybe it's because it's "too pop", or maybe it's because the hipsters hated it. Whatever it is, I found myself playing these a lot...

She Wants Revenge - She Wants Revenge - Broken Promises For Broken Hearts - OK, so it's not exactly the most original sound from one time hip hopper Justin Warfield, but damn, I really enjoyed this album's cookie cutter synth post punk pop. This tune is the perfect synthesis of Interpol and vintage Human League.

The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love - I listened to this more than their last one and I think this is a better record than that one. No good tunes? Gimme a break.

Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah - sophomore slump? No. A little more subdued and maybe a wee bit less thrilling than the debut, but still lots of good tunes.

Teddy Bears - Soft Machine - man, this is a crazy record. Swedes with a history in reggae/rock make an eclectic party record chock full of hooks and great guest vocal turns from Iggy Pop and Neneh Cherry. My kids really like this record.

Morningwood - Morningwood - The Nth Degree - I saw a video of these guys and was hooked by sultry singer Chantal. These guys ride Pixies riffs like nobody, with lots of nice guitar riffage, lots of sex
and shiny production courtesy of of Pixies producer Gil Norton.

Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds - yeah, I like the dude from N'Sync.

Lansing-Dreiden - The Dividing Island - '80s synthpop, prog, metal riffs and art rock are among the many influences of this arty combo. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it many ways it does.

Elefant - The Black Magic Show - I liked their debut a whole bunch. This is not as good - too overproduced - but I still enjoyed it.

Pharrell - In My Mind - sure, it was a little lazy, but it still ended up getting a lot of play.

We Are Scientists - With Love And Squalor - The Great Escape - I like this album a lot. It almost made the top 20 of the year list, but ended up here instead. Killer hooks, a sense of humor and some serious rocking.