AJ Pero, best known as the drummer for heavy metal band Twisted Sister, has died. He was 55.

The news was posted on the official Twisted Sister Facebook page this afternoon. No cause of death was given.

As usual with Super Bowl commercials, the ones that have aired during this year’s Big Game have not disappointed, but a standout for sure has to be the Radio Shack one, in which almost every single icon from the 1980s is represented in a quick montage after a Radio Shack store receives a phone call from, as the clerk, puts it, “The 1980s, who said they wanted their store back.”

We won’t spoil the fun of what memorable visuals and icons are in the commercial, but pay close attention, some of them jump out at you and some you have to kind of squint to see them! Check out the commercial here below. (Updated to include also the extended version.)

Amazon is currently offering for FREE the MP3 version of Twisted Sister‘s cover of the holiday classic tune “Deck The Halls” from their Christmas album A Twisted Christmas.

Yes, FREE. Just follow the link and download the song and then it’s yours, you own it, no strings attached.

The entire album, A Twisted Christmas, which contains 10 metalized holiday songs, is available on MP3 for only $5.99, while the CD is only $4.99.

Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan chose to take the stage at a Pennsylvania rally with Twisted Sister‘s 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” blasting in the background and Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider is none too pleased.

In a statement relayed through his manager, Snider said, “I emphatically denounce Paul Ryan’s use of my band Twisted Sister’s song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ in any capacity,” adding that, “there is almost nothing he stands for that I agree with except the use of the P90X.”

Rock of Ages
Directed by Adam Shankman
Starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Ã…kerman, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 123 Minutes
Release Date: June 15, 2012

“Ain’t lookin’ for nothin’ but a good time, and it don’t get better than this.” – Poison

Disclaimer: I am a 27-year-old man with an affinity for musical theatre and ’80s glam rock. I am not ashamed to admit I have shed a tear or two during Glee or the occasional off-Broadway production of Rent. Musicals aren’t for everyone, but for all the Drama Nerds, Band Geeks, and Glee Kids out there, this one’s for you.

From director Adam Shankman (Hairspray) comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. The year is 1987. Movies like Fatal Attraction, Moonstruck, and Beverly Hills Cop II blow up the box office while Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi play to sold-out stadiums across the country. In this alternate reality of 1987, however, rock god Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) is responsible for every ’80’s anthem and power ballad – an amalgam of every legendary front man in rock’n’roll history.

Rock of Ages features Julianne Hough (Footloose, Burlesque) as Sherrie Christian, a small-town girl who leaves Tulsa, Oklahoma to follow her Hollywood dreams. There she meets rock’n’roller Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), a bartender at The Bourbon Room, one of Sunset Strip’s hottest concert venues.