News Of The Week Roundup: Week 4, 2021

It's been a weekend and I am tired. Eric and I are in the middle of a massive DIY bathroom renovation. The project has taken over the whole house, all free time and so much money. Last night while painting, Eric fell off the top rung of the ladder, landing on his side. Luckily, the concrete lip of the shower pan broke his fall (yes, that was sarcasm). Obviously he is pretty sore today but does not seem to have any broken ribs. He is badly bruised, but we were able to push on and get the room painted today. Hopefully he will heal up enough to get the tile down this week. We will both be glad when this project is behind us!

We passed the year mark of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in America and basically everywhere else. While there are good signs that hospitalizations may be slowing, there are still so many areas with widespread infection. I was not surprised, then, when festival organizers announced that both Coachella and Stagecoach Fests were canceled. Neither happened last year, either.

Coachella and Stagecoach Officially Canceled for 2021 https://t.co/Rczra8yDnY

— TMZ (@TMZ) January 29, 2021

The craziest news story of the week revolved around Reddit, the sub known as "Wall Street Bets" and crazy gyrations in the stock market. For a while at least, the "little guys" took down the hedge funds and forced up the price of stocks like GameStop and AMC. This coordinated push meant the rich hedge funders couldn't cover their short positions and thus took losses. Of course, Wall Street always sides with big money and trading platforms like Robinhood clamped down the ability for regular investors to sell their positions in the so-called "meme stocks." Of course, hedge fund folks were able to sell, buy, hold and do whatever they so desired. Color me shocked.

pic.twitter.com/YSjj9A5kPs

— StockCats (@StockCats) January 27, 2021

#GME #AMC #BB and more to the moon, so Reddit says 🚀https://t.co/Ek1TK1scgH

— CNET (@CNET) January 31, 2021

My favorite author, Michael Lewis, is working on a book about the coronavirus pandemic. It is due in May and I already pre-ordered it. The day the book was announced, it immediately became a bestseller on Amazon. Michael Lewis is a brilliant writer - some of his titles include Liar's Poker, The Big Short and Moneyball. I swear, Liar's Poker is so good, I was literally cackling out loud while reading it.

Michael Lewis, the author of "The Big Short" and "Moneyball," will take on the pandemic in a new book https://t.co/UyLsrHRcHZ

— New York Times Books (@nytimesbooks) January 28, 2021

Pre-order 'The Premonition: A Pandemic Story'

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is completely unhinged and part of Qanon. Rob Portman, Republican Senator of Ohio, thinks his party should stand up to her and I actually agree with him on something for once. Greene is a Republican and publicly endorsed executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019. She also verbally harassed survivors of school shootings and made up some anti-Semitic bullshit about Jewish people creating lasers that caused wildfires in California.

GOP Sen. Rob Portman calls on Republican leaders to 'stand up' against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments - CNNPolitics https://t.co/lB8siYAwjG

— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) January 31, 2021

And I leave you with this... the early 80s Music Hotline. I never experienced this, but I bet some of you did! Pre-widespread Internet life, ya'll.

📞1983 Retro Ad:
— @RollingStone Music Hotline pic.twitter.com/ZKLlcEIa8C

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) February 1, 2021

Bret Michaels Goes FUNKO

Do you think 200 years from now, our ancestors will look at all the junk in landfills and wonder what the heck was wrong with all of us? To that end FUNKO! Pop is releasing new Bret Michaels dolls. The bandana-man comes out in March. I know people who love these little figurines. Not my wheelhouse, but people can spend their money however they wish. I'm shaking my head at the "horns up." It is, after all, Bret's standard photo pose.

BRET MICHAELS: Limited-Edition FUNKO Pop! Vinyl Figure Coming In March https://t.co/n1fLq2VNgy pic.twitter.com/L1486OLcUW

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) January 30, 2021

80s Radical Sabbatical - Tomorrow

There is still time to get your tickets for the all-day virtual 80's Radical Sabbatical tomorrow! Clearly you need to see Bret Michaels rock his wig another time! Plus Sebastian Bach, Lita Ford and Kenny Loggins and more. Tickets are $100 for the whole day pass. Yes, you can buy a VIP meet and greet with Bach, too. Just click through the Facebook link below.

Cheap Trick Announces New Album

Cheap Trick will release In Another World next month. The first single is "Light Up The Fire." You can hear the audio of that new track below. This post was just for Metalboy! - he loves Cheap Trick! Pre-order Cheap Trick - In Another World

Our album In Another World is coming out on April 9th. If you pre-order now, you have a chance to win a cool item from us. https://t.co/cA2kMNxbA9 pic.twitter.com/txNTfgsFUh

— Cheap Trick (@cheaptrick) January 28, 2021

'I Believe I’m Engaged To Bret Michaels and Texting Daily with Nikki Sixx'

The title of this post is an exact message that Heather sent me over Facebook yesterday. This came through during the workday, I glanced down and responded "What, now?" The explanation, obviously, is that a random woman believes she is in a relationship with Bret Michaels and has a deep friendship with Nikki Sixx and the entire situation will be hashed out on Dr. Phil, airing later today. Of course this is a catfish situation. Also - obviously - Nikki Sixx and Bret Michaels make appearances on the talk show.

I have no idea how the episode turns out but my hunch is both Nikki and Bret leave nice video messages for the wayward woman.

I do not watch daytime television but I have seen an episode of Dr. Phil before, probably back when the show began. Actually, I have not watched any talk show in at least a decade. Still, I must admit I am oddly fascinated by today's show premise and maybe I will watch a segment if it is posted on YouTube for later viewing.

Watch the episode with Nikki and Bret today on Dr. Phil - check your local listings for times. If you click the link, you can watch a preview of the show.

Dr. Phil got his start through Oprah... and apparently Bret Michaels just did an episode of Oprah's show on the OWN Network. So there's that - our glam heroes are officially on the talk show circuit now.

Need some #TuesdayThoughts? Revisit Bret Michaels’ episode of @Oprah @OWNTV #Lifeclass @ https://t.co/3CUQ8Gujoi - Team https://t.co/V2DjDLBMVE pic.twitter.com/pqCTvJxlR9

— Bret Michaels (@bretmichaels) January 26, 2021

Labyrinth - 'Welcome To The Absurd Circus' Album Review

Labyrinth is an Italian prog and power metal outfit that has been around since the nineties. Like most acts that have been around that long, they have weathered their fair share of lineup changes. The current lineup is working well because the band's newest effort Welcome To The Absurd Circus is a really strong and a "must hear." The album is on Frontiers.

A lot of the album reminds me of classic Queensryche and I think that is a good thing. I guess this isn't so surprising: members of Labyrinth are apparently big fans of Queensryche, just like us. 

There are super fast riffs for the power-metal fans, but a lot of Welcome To The Absurd Circus is melodic with soaring vocals and harmonic guitars to boot. I'd love to hear Labyrinth singer Roberto Tiranti do a duet with Geoff Tate someday.

We don't normally talk about power metal bands here, but in this instance, I think you will be pleased if you give the new Labyrinth album a shot. My favorite tracks on the release are "The Absurd Circus," "Words Minefield" and "Finally Free." You can listen to the album - or buy it - by clicking on the album art above.

During lockdown, members of Labyrinth recorded a cover of Queensryche's "I Will Remember." 

January 2021 - New Music Playlist

The first month of the year is usually pretty lean when it comes to new music releases. In the rock and metal world, this seems to be true for 2021. So far this year, there are three albums in the rock and metal category which I think are worth discussing. Also, Weezer is due to release a new album in a couple days and that will probably be good, too. I have selected three songs for the January 2021 playlist so far - please add your suggestions as well.

Labyrinth - Welcome To The Absurd Circus is really good. It was released January 22 and I've added the track "The Absurd Circus" to the playlist below. Holy hell, just listen to the guitar solo. Trust me.

Sammy Hagar and the Circle also released an album this month. The covers album is called Lockdown 2020 and is a nice mix of classic rock and Van Halen tunes. I picked the Who cover of "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the playlist.

Finally, my initial list features Accept with their album Too Mean To Die. It is out later this month, but a few songs are already available. I picked "The Undertaker" to share with you today. I think it will be a good representation of the album as a whole.

Let me know what you think of these tracks!