P.C. and Kristin Cast

Tulsa mother-daughter writing team P.C. and Kristin Cast have released “Lenobia’s Vow,” a new novella in their “House of Night” vampire book series.

Oklahoma City rockers Aranda have released the digital edition of their album “Stop the World.” The physical CD will be released Feb. 14. Leonard Cohen, Ringo Starr and Lana Del Rey have released new albums, while Metallica has dropped a new EP.

In the new cinematic home releases, my all-time favorite movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” debuted on Blu-ray today. Plus, one of …

Brooks & Dunn (AP file)

GameMill Entertainment, an independent publisher of entertaining mass-market video games, today announced plans to release “Country Dance All Stars,” an entertaining dance game with bonus sing-along features that will be packed with dozens of hits from favorite country chart-toppers. “Country Dance All Stars,” which launches exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360 in March, will become the first country music dance game to hit the platform, according to the announcement.

“Country Dance All Stars” will feature more than 35 tracks from the best names in country …

Jet and Cord McCoy, Oklahoma cowboys who became fan favorites on the Emmy-Award-Winning CBS series “The Amazing Race,” are featured on the cover and in the content of the new “Amazing Race” video game for the Nintendo Wii.

Created and distributed by UBISOFT, the game is now available for sale nationwide.

The game simulates for players the thrills, excitement, and challenges of “The Amazing Race.” As in the TV show, players must overcome detours, road blocks, fast forwards, intersections and other challenges as they make their way through exotic locations …

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 3-Disc Blu-Ray Combo Pack”

Director Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”) channel the Saturday matinee romps of old with “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”

Their swords-and-sandals epic boasts a nearly superhuman hero, a spirited leading lady and a scope and authenticity not often found in this age of computer-generated action movies. Plus, it’s genuine escapist fun, …

The application allows you to replace her vocals and instruments with your own, essentially turning you into a music producer. Thank goodness, I’ve always thought “Love Story” definitely needed a more masculine touch to it.

–Carney…

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars.

“Prince of Persia” loud, dumb but fun swords-and-sandals adventure

The sixth-century setting aside, the swords-and-sandals adventure “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” qualifies as an unabashed throwback.

Director Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”) put a modern spin on Saturday matinee romps in which the brave protagonist pulls off superhuman feats in battle, charmingly woos a feisty heroine and faces …

Carrie Underwood’s “All-American Girl” will be available to download next week from the Rock Band Music Store.

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a four-pack of songs from American punk rockers X; three singles, including a free track, from British garagerockers Little Fish; as well as singles from Ace Frehley,  OneRepublic and Oklahoma country music star Carrie Underwood will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

These are among the more than 400 artists who …

The song that has been on my brain the most this week:

- “Here Comes the Sun,” The Beatles, from the 1969 album “Abbey Road.”

“Here Comes the Sun” has long been among my favorite Fab Four songs, and the Beatles have been on all music lovers’ minds frequently this week. Remastered versions of the band’s entire catalog were released Wednesday, the same day the anticipated game “The Beatles: Rock Band” made its debut.

But this hopeful song also has been on brain since today is the eighth anniversary of …

Fab Four fans rejoice: The hotly anticipated video game “The Beatles: Rock Band” reaches stores today.

The game is available on Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3.

Gamers can buy just the software or invest in the “The Beatles: Rock Band” limited edition premium bundle, which along with the game itself includes the controller version of Paul McCartney’s Höfner bass, The Beatles branded “Rock Band” drums, microphone, microphone stand and special content.

The game itself includes 40 of the legendary band’s hits, as well as additional downloadable content to …

Brooks & Dunn (Associated Press photo)

Hitmaking country duo Brooks & Dunn, which includes Kix Brooks and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, will release the final album of their musical partnership today. The greatest hits compilation is titled “#1s… And Then Some.”

Brooks & Dunn announced Aug, 10 that they would be parting ways after 20 years of making music together. They will make their break after “The Last Rodeo Tour” in 2010.

In other music news, remastered versions of the entire Beatles catalog are due out Wednesday.

The special re-release …