Walk It Off
Legendary Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann leaves his mark on this Minneapolis quartet's bedroom guitar pop, leading their fuzz-box forays out into the daylight. In his hands, a simple head-bobbing track like "Hang Them All" becomes a moody miasma of organ, shakers, yelps, and thumping bass that makes for pretty decent rump-shaking. — Ken Taylor
Saturdays=Youth
For his fifth album, French mastermind Anthony Gonzalez finds inspiration in the ethereal sounds of '80s-era Kate Bush and the Cocteau Twins to create a young heart beating inside a vintage synth body. Though the release is sometimes sleepy, the up-tempo tunes (performed by actress Morgan Kibby) are a departure from the melancholia of albums past. — Allison Roeser
Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!
This wickedly stylish game with a Roaring Twenties vibe is set in a sinister girls' school ruled by shifty molls, sexy flappers, and plucky entrepreneurettes. Gameplay mixes RPG mechanics with vintage parlor-style card games, letting gals use traits like Savvy and Glamor to thwart derelict caregivers. — Leigh Alexander
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Meet Kratos. He's a Spartan warrior. Kratos makes the guys from 300 look like a sewing circle. But he's putty in your handheld in this prequel to the PlayStation franchise about kicking the ass of every figure in Greek mythology. Little has been lost in scope or graphics — no other PSP title has ever felt so epic. — Chris Baker
Mary Roach
In Stiff, her best seller about cadavers, Roach brought a measure of humor to necrophilia. Now she brings the same dry wit to the science of sex, focusing on the diligent researchers who build dildo-cameras, shoot pornos for pandas, and catch a fetus masturbating. In the spirit of participatory journalism, Roach even submits to an ultrasound while her husband has his way with her in a London hospital. — Jascha Hoffman
Jeff Gordinier
Ever wonder what became of Generation X, those ironic slackers wedged between the paunchy, tie-dyed boomers and their smug offspring, the millennials? Gordinier's first-person manifesto starts with a thumbnail sketch of '90s disillusionment and ends with a passionate call for social activism. He's praying that Obama, not Cobain, winds up being the definitive face of his underappreciated generation. — Mark Horowitz
