THIS JUST OUT: Avril Lavigne sounds like Ashley Tisdale now Edition

So is March the time people magically start buying things again after the holidays? Is that science? "Market research" is the only answer I can come up with for the fact that it's been all shit videogames and indie music releases for the past two months, and now all of a sudden the big boys are pumping out major-release content again. Mind-boggling.

What this means, though, for the radio-ready pop music fan, is that you now have a hellish choice before you: whether to spend your pfennigs on Sara Evans or Avril Lavigne.

I don't envy you that choice.

DVD

Inside Job
Oscar-winning doc about how a bunch of rich, impulsive, coke-addled assholes destroyed the American economy. Watch if you haven't been filled with bilious rage lately. 
Rated PG-13

Jackass 3
Jackass. In 3D. Questions? Rated R

Morning Glory
Rachel McAdams — who we'd watch doing just about anything in the whole wide world (sweeping chimneys, curling, etc.) — is having a tough time getting a gig as a TV producer. Then she lands one on Day Break, an early-morning network show so bad that it’s a step backwards. Luckily, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton are around to make menopause jokes. Rated PG-13

The Next Three Days
Russell Crowe has no idea how to break someone out of prison. He really should have thought of that before his wife went there. Written/Directed by everyone's favorite whistle-blowing ex-Scientologist. Rated PG-13


MUSIC

Goodbye Lullaby | Avril Lavigne
I was away from the TV this morning when Avril kicked off the Today Show with her new single "What the Hell." I was all, like, "Who is this? Ashley Tisdale?!"

Stronger | Sara Evans
I heard a Sara Evans song the other day and was all, like, "Who is this? Shania Twain?!" 

Lasers | Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco recently lost the title of "rapper we'd love to love but just can't" to Kid Cudi (808s and Heartbreak-era Kanye hopped in there, too, for a minute). Let's see if the less-than-rousing Lasers — which is being dubiously called "club music with a conscience" (doesn't MDMA take that away?) — can get him back on top.

Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang | Raekwon
More proof that you should regard with skepticism any Raekwon album that doesn't begin with "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx"

Collapse Into Now | R.E.M.
More proof that you should regard with skepticism any Michael Stipe record released after 1992.


VIDEOGAMES 

Unless you are allergic to fun — or own a Wii (which, at this point, is kinda the same thing) — you should be purchasing Dragon Age II this week. It's really the only choice anyway, and it's available for PS3, XBOX and PC.

Your other options are baseball games — Major League Baseball 2K11 for all platforms, and MLB 11 The Show for PS3 and PSP