The Pipettes

• USA Today is featuring some of the new, vibrant, candy-colored photo stills from the Speed Racer movie.
• TV Bloggin has a steamier version of the Bones-Booth kiss.
• Jason Bateman continues to talk to MTV Movies Blog about the possibility of an Arrested Development movie, and this time he sounds quite hopeful.
• Stereogum has the Michel Gondry-directed video for Bjork's "Declare Independence."
• Need a laugh? Check out some bloopers from the British version of The Office, courtesy of Give Me My Remote.
• FilmExperience brings up a good point: If Juno is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it will be "the most youth-skewing entry" in a long time.
• TV Squad explains why things don't look good for Bionic Woman.
• Idolator has a new candy-colored video from The Pipettes.

Most of us weren't lucky enough to get down to Austin for Southwest by Southwest, but that doesn't mean we can't relive the experience through good music and very cool photos. (Combine the two, and it's almost like being at a concert!)

Looking through some of the best shots from SXSW, I was struck by what a British Invasion there was this year, from keynote speaker Pete Townsend to much-discussed performances by Lily Allen, Bloc Party, Amy Winehouse, and The Pipettes (above). I've got photos from all of those shows and more, so check out my SXSW gallery when you read more

Not every year can be a great year for music, and 2006 was just okay. It didn't help that this year was sandwiched between 2005—which gave us great albums by Kanye West, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Sufjan Stevens—and 2007, which promises new releases from Wilco, Arcade Fire, and Timbaland. While choosing my Top 10 for the year was a cinch, coming up with the bottom 10 was tough.

Thankfully, I managed to scour enough of the year's music to bring you this four-part series, BuzzSugar's Top 20 Albums of 2006. Now for Part III: albums 6 to 10. (Read yesterday's installment on albums 11 to 15.)

10. Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds

Personally, I don’t find Justin Timberlake the slightest bit attractive, but like Prince before him, JT somehow manages to embody sex in musical form. On FutureSex/LoveSound, his boyish vocals collide with the oozing electronica and throbbing keyboard rhythms in a way that just makes you feel dirty — particularly on the unsterilized album versions. From the banjo- and string-laden “What Goes Around” to the groaning masterpiece that is “Sexy Back,” Timberlake and his production team have crafted a record impossible not to dance to.

9. The Pipettes, We Are the Pipettes

Admittedly, the Pipettes are a gimmicky band, but the British trio’s debut is easily my favorite pure-fun album of the year. The band’s quirky, carousing songs owe a great deal to Phil Spector’s 1960s girl-group sound, but the swinging strings and edgy British-accented vocal harmonies also lean toward 1990s riot-grrl rock. This may not be an album you hand down as a family heirloom, but it was the perfect party album to get me through the summer of 2006.

To see the rest, read more

This one has been around for a few months, but I have to make sure that no one misses one of the best music videos of 2006: The Pipettes' "Pull Shapes." Not only is this song one of my favorite happy songs of this year, but the video also cracks me up, with its ambiguously retro and flirtatiously fun visuals. I also love the juxtaposition between the swanky big-band orchestration and a bit of riot girl edge. The perfect thing to get you going for Saturday night.