Hot This Week: February 29

Happy Leap Day! We've got plenty of new movies on this week's list, led by the Robert De Niro/Anne Hathaway comedy The Intern. Adele keeps her place atop the music chart, joined by just one new title this week: the powerful Hymns album from country duo Joey + Rory. The latest installment of Jeffrey Archer's Clifton Chronicles leaps to the top of the fiction list, while Harper Lee's passing puts Go Set a Watchman back on the list as well. In non-fiction, three new titles make the list, led by the anguished memoir from the mother of one of the Columbine shooters.

DVD

1. The Intern
2. The Martian 
3. Straight Outta Compton
4. Everest
5. The Last Witch Hunter
6. Goosebumps
7. Bridge of Spies
8. Our Brand Is Crisis
9. Hotel Transylvania 2
10. The Visit

CD

1. Adele, 25
2. Justin Bieber, Purpose
3. Rihanna, ANTI
4. Joey + Rory, Hymns
5. Chris Stapleton, Traveller
6. The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
7. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
8. Taylor Swift, 1989
9. NOW That's What I Call Music 57
10. Kevin Gates, Islah

Fiction

1. Cometh the Hour, Jeffrey Archer
2. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
3. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
4. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
5. Brotherhood in Death, J.D. Robb
6. NYPD Red 4, James Patterson and Marshall Karp
7. Find Her, Lisa Gardner
8. My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
9. Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee
10. Rogue Lawyer, John Grisham

Non-Fiction

1. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
2. A Mother's Reckoning, Sue Klebold
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli
5. The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson 
6. Dark Money, Jane Mayer
7. Conviction, Juan Martinez
8. Originals, Adam Grant
9. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
10. Leonard, William Shatner and David Fisher

Hot This Week: February 22

Academy Award-nominated sci-fi hit The Martian comes to the movie list in a big way this week, rocketing all the way to the top. Adele is back at #1 in music, while Sir Elton John places his new release on the chart as well. J.D. Robb hangs onto the top fiction spot for a second week, while a new thriller from Lisa Gardner is the only newcomer. In non-fiction, Real Housewife Teresa Giudice and Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri place new books on the list.

DVD

1. The Martian
2. The Last Witch Hunter
3. Goosebumps
4. Love the Coopers
5. The Visit
6. Bridge of Spies
7. Sinister 2
8. Hotel Transylvania 2
9. Hitman: Agent 47
10. Ted 2

CD

1. Adele, 25
2. Rihanna, ANTI
3. Coldplay, A Head Full of Dreams
4. Justin Bieber, Purpose
5. NOW That's What I Call Music 57
6. Elton John, Wonderful Crazy Night
7. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
8. Kevin Gates, Islah
9. Chris Stapleton, Traveller
10. The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness

Fiction

1. Brotherhood in Death, J.D. Robb
2. NYPD Red 4, James Patterson and Marshall Karp
3. Find Her, Lisa Gardner
4. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
6. My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
7. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah 
8. Blue, Danielle Steel
9. Breakdown, Jonathan Kellerman
10. Rogue Lawyer, John Grisham
11. See Me, Nicholas Sparks

Non-Fiction

1. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
2. The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson 
5. Turning the Tables, Teresa Giudice and K.C. Baker 
6. Dark Money, Jane Mayer
7. Originals, Adam Grant
8. In Other Words, Jhumpa Lahiri
9. Killing Reagan, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
10. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager

Hollywood Vampires Revive Classic Rock

Written by Jon Williams

The Grammy Awards ceremony on Monday night produced some incredible musical moments. From Taylor Swift’s opening number to Kendrick Lamar’s fiery performance (literally), the taste of Broadway’s Hamilton, Little Big Town’s haunting rendition of their hit “Girl Crush,” and more, there was something for fans all across the spectrum to enjoy. And then there were the tributes—the Eagles taking the stage with Jackson Browne to perform “Take It Easy” in honor of Glenn Frey, and Lady Gaga’s medley of David Bowie hits.

One of the more unexpected moments came late in the show when Alice Cooper took the stage with a band of familiar faces. Introduced by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, they first played an original song, then faded it into a cover of “Ace of Spades” in tribute to Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister. They did so with a brand of straightforward rock sound that was absent from the rest of the show and, indeed, has seemingly gone missing from the music world’s consciousness as other forms of pop music have come to the forefront.

The band is called the Hollywood Vampires, and this wasn’t just a one-off performance. A tribute in themselves to Cooper’s famous drinking buddies of the ‘70s, they formed in 2015 with principal members Joe Perry and Johnny Depp joining the singer. Their debut album featured contributions from such luminaries as Grohl, Joe Walsh, Sir Paul McCartney, and the late Christopher Lee. And while not technically full members of the band, they’ve frequently been joined, as they were on Monday night, by Guns N’ Roses associates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.

And of course, to score such an incredible list of collaborators, the supergroup’s actual members are pretty famous in their own right. Alice Cooper, of course, just finished up a supporting stint on Motley Crue’s final tour. He’s been at the forefront of the rock n’ roll business for decades. The same can be said of Joe Perry, lead guitarist for Aerosmith since 1970. The third member is something of a surprise, as Johnny Depp is known for his acting career, but it turns out he has some serious musical chops as well.

The Hollywood Vampires only have one album for now, but Cooper recently reported that he’s working on a follow-up, as well as perhaps a live album, as the band gets ready for its summer concert schedule. Make sure you have it on your shelves, as well as music from the band’s members, collaborators, and other similar acts to satisfy your rock-loving patrons as this style of music tries to regain its foothold in popular culture.

Hot This Week: February 15

Vin Diesel brings his latest, a paranormal action flick, to the top of this week's movie listing. Four new albums grace the music chart, led by Rihanna's latest. The new novel of suspense from perennial favorite J.D. Robb tops the fiction list, joined at #6 by the latest from Jonathan Kellerman. In non-fiction, the week's only newcomer is Adam Grant's treatise on outside-the-box thinking.

DVD

1. The Last Witch Hunter
2. Goosebumps
3. The Visit
4. Hotel Transylvania 2
5. Hitman: Agent 47
6. Ted 2
7. Bridge of Spies
8. Burnt
9. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
10. Sicario

CD

1. Rihanna, ANTI
2. Kevin Gates, Islah
3. Adele, 25
4. Sia, This Is Acting
5. Justin Bieber, Purpose
6. Charlie Puth, Nine Track Mind
7. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
8. Chris Stapleton, Traveller
9. Bryson Tiller, T R A P S O U L
10. G-Eazy, When It's Dark Out

Fiction

1. Brotherhood in Death, J.D. Robb
2. NYPD Red 4, James Patterson and Marshall Karp
3. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
4. My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
6. Breakdown, Jonathan Kellerman
7. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
8. Blue, Danielle Steel
9. Rogue Lawyer, John Grisham
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alan Dean Foster

Non-Fiction

1. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
2. Originals, Adam Grant
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli
5. The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson
6. Dark Money, Jane Mayer
7. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
8. Killing Reagan, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
9. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager
10. The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

Hot This Week: February 8

A couple of new titles lead this week's movie list, led by Jack Black starring as R.L. Stine in Goosebumps. Adele jumps back to the top of the music chart, while legendary metal band Megadeth places their new release at #3. Three new fiction titles make this week's list, led by the latest NYPD Red installment from James Patterson and Marshall Karp. And while there are no new titles in non-fiction, the notable move of the week is Jane Mayer's Dark Money, jumping from #6 to #2.

DVD

1. Goosebumps
2. Hitman: Agent 47
3. Hotel Transylvania 2
4. Ted 2
5. Burnt
6. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
7. Sicario
8. Fantastic Four
9. Minions
10. Woodlawn

CD

1. Adele, 25
2. Justin Bieber, Purpose
3. Megadeth, Dystopia
4. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
5. Panic! At the Disco, Death of a Bachelor
6. David Bowie, Blackstar
7. Chris Stapleton, Traveller 
8. The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
9. 2016 Grammy Nominees
10. Bryson Tiller, T R A P S O U L

Fiction

1. NYPD Red 4, James Patterson and Marshall Karp
2. Blue, Danielle Steel
3. My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
4. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
6. The Bands of Mourning, Brandon Sanderson
7. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alan Dean Foster
9. The Swans of Fifth Avenue, Melanie Benjamin
10. Rogue Lawyer, John Grisham

Non-Fiction

1. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
2. Dark Money, Jane Mayer
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson
5. The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli
6. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager
7. Killing Reagan, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
8. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
9. The Wright Brothers, David McCullough
10. Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari

Hot This Week: February 1

The first list of February sees just a minor shuffling of hot movie titles. Panic! At the Disco and the ever-popular Kidz Bop Kids place new titles on the music chart, while David Bowie maintains a strong presence. Danielle Steel's new novel tops the fiction list, while Bill Bryson and Jane Meyer are the newcomers in non-fiction.

DVD

1. Hotel Transylvania 2
2. Ted 2
3. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
4. Sicario
5. Fantastic Four
6. Minions
7. Trainwreck
8. Ant-Man
9. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
10. Heist

CD

1. Panic! At the Disco, Death of a Bachelor
2. Adele, 25
3. Justin Bieber, Purpose
4. David Bowie, Blackstar
5. Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
6. Kidz Bop Kids, Kidz Bop 31
7. David Bowie, Best of Bowie
8. Chris Stapleton, Traveller
9. The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
10. Bryson Tiller, T R A P S O U L

Fiction

1. Blue, Danielle Steel
2. My Name Is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
3. All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
4. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
5. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Alan Dean Foster
7. Rogue Lawyer, John Grisham
8. Warriors of the Storm, Bernard Cornwell
9. Scandalous Behavior, Stuart Woods
10. Feverborn, Karen Marie Moning

Non-Fiction

1. When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
2. The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis and Andrea Tornielli
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson 
5. Dark Money, Jane Mayer
6. Killing Reagan, Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
7. Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager
8. Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
9. Crippled America, Donald J. Trump
10. Modern Romance, Aziz Ansari