India Arie

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. In addition to my picks below, Lily Allen's new album hits stores today as well. Here are today's selections:

From the folks who brought you "J**z in My Pants": The Lonely Island (TLI), founded by Andy Samberg and friends, has released its first album and includes greatest hits like "Dick In a Box" featuring Justin Timberlake and "Lazy Sunday" featuring Chris Parnell. But there are so many new songs that are equally hysterical and surprisingly catchy. No, seriously — I want to dance to "Boombox", which features Julian Casablancas, lead singer of The Strokes. The collaborations go on and on including: Norah Jones, Jack Black, and T-Pain.

Live + music = good: Live From the Artists Den is a concert series turned television show, where it airs I do not know (see that? Rhyming). They manage to snag some pretty great artists to perform in some cool venues and now there's a CD compilation of these live performances. The artists on this particular volume include The Hold Steady performing "Sequestered in Memphis," Ani DiFranco performing "Present/Infact," and Aimee Mann performing "31 Today." The sound quality is fantastic! I highly recommend the download.

It's a great day for music. Two more exciting picks up next so read more

Back in 2001, I picked up Acoustic Soul by India Arie and liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I lost track of her until this week, when I ran across a video for "I Am Not My Hair." The song came out in 2006, but its message of self-acceptance and confidence is timeless. India sings about her experiences with "good" and "bad" hair, running through a long list of hairstyles she's worn throughout her life. It's a smart examination of the personal politics of black hair, and a pretty catchy tune, too. And as much as I think the word "empowering" is overused and misused, it fits this song perfectly.

I was lucky enough to take an advance spin of the new soundtrack for the Sex and the City movie and I immediately thought of good times with girlfriends. In aggregate, it's not entirely a get-up-and-shake-your-booty kind of mix, but just a cool bunch of songs about love and friendship. I think it would be quite perfect for the background music at a hip wedding shower actually.

The soundtrack is packed with a bunch of recognizable names, like Jennifer Hudson, whose tune "All Dressed in Love" is a cute, uptempo disco anthem that reminds me of the exuberance found in "It's Raining Men." Morningwood's (ha! That name!) "New York Girls" is not my favorite, and if I were in charge of finding a good retro-rock vibe for the album (or the movie) I would have gone with Franz Ferdinand or even the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That and the smooth techno beats in "I Like the Way" by Kaskade are the kinds of tracks mixed between better songs that give the whole thing the "background music" vibe I'm talking about.

To check out who else is included and the rest of my thoughts, read more

• Two more have joined the cast of My Sister's Keeper: Jason Patric will play the girls' father and Thomas Dekker (formerly Zach on Heroes) will play "the older sister's boyfriend and a fellow cancer survivor," writes Hollywood Reporter.
• Online video service Hulu is now open to the public, USA Today reports.
• ComingSoon has the news that five more actors have joined the cast of the Shopaholic movie, including John Lithgow and Kristin Scott Thomas.
• Since Janet Jackson has the flu, Mariah Carey will appear on this weekend's Saturday Night Live, the Associated Press reports.
• Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is writing an animated version of the Australian comedy Sit Down, Shut Up for Fox, writes Zap2It.
• According to Billboard, Goldfrapp, Kate Nash and several others have joined the lineup for this year's Coachella festival.
• The Gossip Girl Q&A from the upcoming Paley Festival will be webcast live on March 22, TV Guide reports.
• Billboard reports that India.Arie will star in a Broadway show produced by Whoopi Goldberg.

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