Ben Folds

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores. So I take a spin through each week's music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. Here are today's selections:

Dylan's got the blues: Bob Dylan's back with a new album, and I'm ready to dig in. The LA Times writes that the album was inspired by "midcentury Chess and Sun label recordings" with the influence of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf apparent in the tracks. I'm enjoying "Beyond Here Lies Nothin" and "It's All Good."

Let the choir sing: I love the idea of university choirs singing Ben Folds songs. The effect, from what I've heard so far on this new album, totally reminds me of what makes the upcoming Fox show Glee so fun: my favorite pop melodies sung with lots of earnest harmonies. Love it! Maybe a whole album of this could be a bit much, but I'm definitely downloading "Brick." And OMG, "The Luckiest" is so beautiful this way!

One more up next, so read more

• Take a break today for St. Patrick's Day with the old trailer for Leprechaun, starring Jennifer Aniston. — Popwatch
• Is the American Idol top four already totally fixed? — Vulture
• Notes from South by Southwest: Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno footage is 20 minutes of comedic bliss. — Cinematical
• The many headbands of Blair Waldorf. — BellaSugar
• Brett Simon’s 2008 Sundance hit, Assassination of a High School President, starring Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis, may soon go straight to DVD. — MTV Movies Blog
• If you could only choose one hour of TV each day, what would you pick? — Give Me My Remote
• Why does this tickle me so much? Ben Folds is compiling an album of college a capella groups covering his songs. — Stereogum
• Check out the SciFi Channel's new reality show about gamers: WCG Ultimate Gamer. — geeksugar

• Frasier's John Mahoney is joining the cast of Burn Notice. — Entertainment Weekly
• Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt will play a couple in a troubled marriage in the upcoming drama Every Day. — Variety
• David Strathairn and Catherine O'Hara are among the new additions to HBO's Temple Grandin film, which already stars Claire Danes. — Hollywood Reporter
• Feist is turning her Fall tour into a charity drive. — Pitchfork
• AMC is developing a TV series about a human colony on Mars. — TV Guide
• Salma Hayek will reportedly guest-star on 30 Rock. — New York Post
• Tyler Perry's in trouble with the Writers' Guild for firing four writers. — Variety
• Live tracks from Ben Folds' tour will be available almost immediately on iTunes. — Billboard

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Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores, including iTunes. So I take a spin through each week's iTunes music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. In addition to the songs and albums below, you can now download the Mad Men soundtrack and Jennifer Hudson's self-titled new album.

Foul-mouthed piano man: I've been patiently waiting for the new Ben Folds album, and so far, it sounds like everything I expected from the weirdo songwriter. A lot of the lyrics are dark in subject matter, and I like the tracks focused on relationships most, including his duet with Regina Spektor, "You Don't Know Me," as well as "Before Cologne" and "Cologne."

Soul singing: I am such a sucker for pretty, romantic, soulful tunes, and James Morrison, a singer from across the pond, delivers just that. Off his new album, I like, "If You Don't Wanna Love Me," "Love is Hard," and "You Make It Real." Maybe it's just the name, but he sort of reminds me of a young Van Morrison.

One more release still to come, so read more

Tuesdays are big in entertainmentville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores, including iTunes. So I take a spin through each week's iTunes music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. Here are today's selections:

Not just Beyonce's little sister anymore: I posted the video for Solange Knowles's single "I Decided" a while back and now the entire album is available. This new album blends classic Motown melodies with elements that are little more far-out and groovy. I've already purchased "Would've Been the One" and "Sandcastle Disco." It's only on slower tracks that the album gets weak — the funky tempos, not her voice, make this album shine.

A sparkling duet: Remember when I told you about that really cute duet called "You Don't Know Me" by Regina Spektor and Ben Folds that's from his upcoming album? Well, now it's available on iTunes and remains extremely cute! Hurry up and get it while it's hot!

One more big, anticipated album and a new single up next so read more

Ben Folds's plucky tune "You Don't Know Me" has that bouncy piano thing that actually reminds me more of Regina Spektor's music than Ben Folds's, so it seems fitting that Spektor would contribute some sweet vocals to the track. "You Don't Know Me" will be on Ben Folds's September album Way to Normal.

I'm really digging this song. No, it's not much like Folds's older stuff, but it's a cute, jaunty departure from the norm, and I can appreciate that. To check out the song for yourself, read more

• If you're a fan of Sci-Fi's Eureka, TV with MeeVee has an interview with its producer and star.
• MTV Movies Blog asks Deepak Chopra why he thinks The Love Guru bombed so dramatically.
• TV Filter posits that more TV series should air 13-episode seasons.
• Cinematical talks about the Japanese critics who are upset by the nuclear bomb scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
• Spinner has the cool stop-motion video for the Ben Folds track "Hiroshima."
• Popwatch asks the important questions: On this, National Underwear Day, what TV and movie scenes do you think of first?
• DearSugar examines Nerve.com's list of the 50 sexiest music videos.
• If you've got a problem with Batman's voice in The Dark Knight, then Vulture's got a problem with you.

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