#WhatsHappening for August 23, 2016

Hey-o, cats and kittens. Hope you're doing well. 

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that there were a number of songs removed from the songbook when I reprinted them. Of course, that means a few people have approached me to ask where certain songs were now. 

"They was in the book last time I was here" I'm told, to which it takes every fucking ounce of self control I have not to scream "and they fucking sucked then, too!"

Former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts, who left the band in 2012 due to health reasons, was found dead in West Bend, Wisconsin over the weekend.

Roberts was supposed to perform at a benefit for veterans and was there with his father. Police responded to a call on Saturday morning reporting an unconscious man in a hotel hallway and found Roberts dead.

His father told CNN his room key "didn’t work and (Matt) went and came back in just a few minutes and got me a new key. He opened the door for me and he said ‘just make sure you open the adjoining room in case you need anything.’ He was always looking out for me" and that was the last time he saw his son alive.

Police say there were no signs of trauma and that the cause of death is currently unknown. An autopsy has been scheduled for Sunday, but the findings have not been released.

The Olympics are finally over (until 2018) at least. Thank fucking goodness.

Australian dance duo Empire of the Sun has some big names appearing on their upcoming album, Two Vines. 

The album, due out October 28, features contributions from Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, Wendy Melvoin- who was part of the Revolution, and David Bowie's Blackstar band members Henry Hey and Tim Lefebvre.

The album's first single, "High and Low," will be released tomorrow.

Gloria Trevi, Sin Bandera and Jesse & Joy will headline the 2016 Latin Grammy Acoustic Sessions, leading up to the 17th annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.

Duo Sin Bandera and Carlos Rivera kick off the concert series in Los Angeles on September 21- the day nominees are announced.

Trevi  will perform in Dallas on October 12, while Jesse & Joy will wrap up the series in Miami on October 25.

"These exclusive events pave the way towards the biggest night in Latin music while allowing Latin music fans to celebrate together, in a true intimate setting, with some of today's most esteemed artists," said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., president/CEO of the Latin Recording Academy.

Get it?

Sprint's new spokesperson looks like no less a douchebag now than he did when he was walking around asking if you could hear him now.

From the "Are You Fucking Kidding Me?" department: The worst fucking movie ever made is getting yet another sequel.

I remember all the hype. I watched with an open mind. I wanted to enjoy it. 

At the end of it, I looked at my roommate, who'd just come in from work and said "I can't believe I just pissed away 81 minutes of my life on that colossal piece shit."

What a way to take a pretty neat premise and then piss right the fuck all over it with some many irritating fucking contrivances that I wouldn't have enjoyed the fucking thing even if they'd had good actors and coherent story. Fuck you, Blair Witch.

Just... no.

I was saddened to read of the death of actor Steven Hill, who most notably played DA Adam Schiff on Law & Order for the show's first ten seasons. He was 94.

A plaque to commemorate David Bowie's time in the then-divided city of Berlin in the late 1970s was unveiled yesterday by mayor Michael Mueller- who recalled the singer's "special relationship" with the city while unveiling the plaque at the building where Bowie lived from 1976 to 1978.

Bowie's albums Low and Heroes were made in West Berlin, and the plaque quotes the refrain from the latter's title track - "We can be heroes, just for one day."

Aretha Franklin has cancelled a number of her upcoming shows to rest, according to a statement released yesterday.

The statement said that "due to doctors' orders I will have to cancel a few concerts for the next month or so."
The 74 year old said her August 26 show at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and two shows at Radio City Music Hall are among the cancellations, as well as the Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 show and a solo gig on September 23.

She said she hopes to be back on the road in November.

Birthdays today include:  SkyBlu of LMFAO; Julian Casablancas of The Strokes; Cedella Marley of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers; Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays; Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots; Edwyn Collins; and Rick Springfield. #MusicalBirthdays