LJWorld.com

'Thom Filicia' (book)

America has gotten to know Thom Filicia's style, and his wit, from the TV shows "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Dress My Nest." Now he's unleashed his talents on a design guide, "Thom Filicia Style: Inspired Ideas for Creating Rooms You'll Love."

It is, he writes, "a way for people to bring me home in convenient (and less annoying) book form."

Filicia devotes a bit of the book to an endearingly self-deprecating biography (he bravely includes a college yearbook picture of himself in a bob and a bow tie) before launching into the how-tos of his design aesthetic. He schools his readers in his 10 design tips and the 10 moods he seeks to create, then shows how it all comes together with case studies of homes he's designed.

One interesting note: Proceeds from the book support breast cancer research and awareness. His mother, Janet, died of the disease in 2002.

"Thom Filicia Style" is published by Atria Books and sells for $35 in hardcover.

'Wii Music' (game)

The latest versions of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are fine, but if you're hankering for something a little different, look into "Wii Music." It's part-orchestra simulator, part-virtual band camp and a lot of family fun.

Instead of plastic guitar and drum controllers, you'll be using the Wii Remote and its Nunchuck plug-in to mime the playing of more than 60 instruments, including brass, strings, winds and keyboards, along with several quirky Nintendo pseudo instruments.

The main game mode involves jamming to more than 50 preset songs. You'll do this alone or with other players and sometimes with the game's music instructors who have the misfortune of being nicknamed "tutes." These jam sessions are a great way to discover and learn the intricacies of the instruments. Be sure to try the dog and cat suits, which allow you to bark and meow melodically. "Wii Music" also lets you to make video recordings of your favorite performances.

In addition to pretend jam sessions, "Wii Music" offers up some music minigames that are heavy on multiplayer fun. If you do nothing else this holiday season, you should try your skills at Handbell Harmony, sort of like "Guitar Hero" with handbells. Getting four people in sync on "Oh, Christmas Tree" as color-coded handbell icons scroll across the screen is a study in hilarity. The same goes for Mii Maestro, in which as many as four players can try to simultaneously conduct a symphony starring their Mii avatars.

"Wii Music" is rated E for everyone and sells for $49.99 new.

AC/DC's 'Black Ice' (music)

AC/DC's first studio album in eight years, "Black Ice," sold nearly 800,000 copies in its first week in the United States, making it the second-best album debut of the year, second only to rapper Lil Wayne (the CD has already gone platinum).

While AC/DC is not unaccustomed to topping the charts - they've sold 70 million records in the United States alone over their decades-long run, placing them 10th on the all-time list of best-selling acts - they are enjoying their greatest success, and exposure, in years.

"It's definitely their biggest return to form in many years," says Jason Fine, executive editor of Rolling Stone, which put AC/DC's Johnson and the group's founding members and leaders, guitar brothers Angus and Malcolm Young - on a recent cover. (Guitarist Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd round out the group.)

"It's their best record since 'Back in Black,' since 1980," adds Fine. "Unlike some of the records that they made over the last 20 years, this one really sounds alive."

Part of the credit goes to acclaimed producer Brendan O'Brien, whose credits include albums by Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. Once Angus and Malcolm crafted the songs for the CD, O'Brien geared the sound toward more of the rambunctious, carefree rock sound that made songs like "You Shook Me All Night Long" such enduring classics.

The CD is sold exclusively on the band's Web site and at Wal-Mart stores.