Snow Patrol

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 my selections below you can download new albums from Pink and Snow Patrol. Here's what's on my list this week:

The making of a Legend: I like John Legend and I feel like he's the perfect pick for when I'm in a romantic and/or chillaxed mood. His new album sounds pretty fun. I'm enjoying a duet with Andre 3000 called "Green Light," a sweet song called "No Other Love" featuring Estelle with a nice rasta-beat beneath it, and "This Time" is pretty and different-sounding for Legend. It's good to hear him getting up from the piano and mixing it up a little. Oh, and "I Love, You Love" sounds like wedding mix material.

The Cure for your ears: For what it's worth, The Cure's new album is earning some high praise from music critics. The Guardian called the band's thirteenth studio album "admirably taut and vibrant" and Blender declares, "here's the new soundtrack to Saturday night." Fun! I'm enjoying the upbeat song, "The Only One" and "Underneath the Stars" is another good one.

One more selection up next so read more

Need to dial up something new on your headphones to get you through Monday? I know I've had a hankering for some new music, and today we're in luck: New albums from The Cure and Snow Patrol are streaming online now.

Snow Patrol's new album, A Hundred Million Suns, is streaming on the band's MySpace page. (If it doesn't start for you right away, click the album cover on the left-hand side of the music player, or select the album title from the dropdown menu.) The album comes out tomorrow, Oct. 28, in the U.S., and you can get a bonus track for pre-ordering from iTunes. So far, it sounds like more of the lush, layered, sweeping music I've come to expect from this band, and I hope Grey's Anatomy has some suitably emotional scenes planned so these songs can be the soundtrack.

Meanwhile, The Cure's 13th studio album, 4:13 Dream, has made a MySpace appearance of its own. (It comes up under "featured playlist" on the music player and will hit stores tomorrow.) It's hard to believe this band has now been releasing albums for almost 30 years! This is the first studio album in four years, and we've already heard a handful of tracks from it, but I can't wait to give the whole thing a listen and see how it comes together.

Have you been looking forward to either of these albums?

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We have to wait until May 4 to see Spider-Man 3, but here's something you can watch to pass the time. Snow Patrol has just released an adorable music video for "Signal Fire," the band's contribution the Spider-Man 3 Soundtrack, which comes out May 1. The super-indie compilation also features the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Killers, and the Flaming Lips.

In this charmingly unflashy video, the Spidey tale is told through an elementary-school play, complete with cardboard skyscrapers, a tiny little Mary Jane, and a furry spider costume. If that sounds cute, well, it is; to watch, read more

The song that played over the final scenes of "The Black Donnellys" on Monday apparently wasn't the original choice for that spot. There are two versions of the ending floating around right now: one that aired on Monday and features Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" over the climactic scenes, and one from the original, unaired pilot with Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)" playing instead.

After watching both versions, I'm amazed at how much the song changes the character of the ending. The Snow Patrol song fades into the background, making the acting and dialogue carry the drama. The Arcade Fire song, on the other hand, makes the scenes feel much more urgent, and the lyrics match the action better. For my money, the Arcade Fire version is more powerful, though the Snow Patrol ending picks up steam when Tommy Donnelly starts the gunfight (about three minutes in).

I haven't seen an official explanation for the change, though this story rhapsodizing about the Arcade Fire version chalks it up to licensing issues. That would make sense; the only time I remember hearing that song on TV is during Nate Fisher's 40th birthday party on "Six Feet Under" (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

By the way, these five minutes were the best part of the pilot, so if you missed the premiere but watch these scenes, consider yourself caught up. Here's the ending as it aired, with the Snow Patrol song:

To see the leaked Arcade Fire version and weigh in on which works better, read more