It’s weird. Will.i.am as a solo artist doesn’t really do it for me. And Fergie’s stuff – successful as she is – doesn’t hit me in the right place. But the Black Eyed Peas as a collective unit – the grooves that they lay down, even in their most mainstream form, always seem to appeal to me. I like the funky bloops, beeps and blips, what can I say? And I like the interaction between Will, Fergie, the tall one and the other guy (how’s that for lazy research?). Okay okay: apl.de.ap and Taboo (glad I looked!).

It goes back to their 1998 debut album, Behind the Front, for me. There is one track I loved from the start: “Be Free”. Listen to it here.

The #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 right now is “Boom Boom Pow” – from their forthcoming CD, The E.N.D., due June 9th. It’s nothing groundbreaking, of course, and is instantly identifiable as B.E.P. – but it bumps. And I like to bump.

I lean toward the Kids side on this one.