Monitor picks

Changing his stripes

Jack White, the guitar and voice half of The White Stripes, has temporarily set aside the duo's minimalist garage blues for a new band called The Raconteurs. Their debut single, Steady As She Goes, now on iTunes, has a chorus that should be preserved in the Library of Congress.

America has major bathroom problems. So say the sheer number of loo gadgets - easy-flip seats or creative paper dispensers - on ABC's reality show American Inventor (Thursdays, 9 p.m. EST). Oher creations range from useful (tree trimmers) to bizarre (wig liners), but the stories of sacrifice from these would-be Edisons is the program's main attraction.

Now in paperback, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies finds The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency tackling both personal and professional cases. The newly married Precious Ramotswe is dealing with an intruder, a missing apprentice, and a pumpkin. Her assistant, Grace Makutsi, is saddled with a stuttering partner in dance class. Start reading now - the next entry, "Blue Shoes and Happiness," arrives April 18.

New on iTunes: fresh concert downloads by the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. The first such recording, a series of Mozart's symphonies conducted in February by Lorin Maazel, can be purchased either as a whole concert or as individual movements. At just under $10 per album, it's considerably cheaper than a ticket to Lincoln Center.

Through the Fire, the ESPN documentary now on an unrated DVD, tells the story of Sebastian Telfair, a New York high school hoopster so legendary that the likes of Derek Jeter and rap mogul Jay-Z came to see him play. On NBA draft day 2004, it's clear he's gone from basketball player to teen savior of an entire neighborhood. A hoop dream come true.