The Chronicles of Michael Christopher
Music – Culture – Film – Travel – Photography – Vinyl – Skulls
Many years ago, while in the Finnish gothic rock band HIM, Ville Valo coined the term "love metal" to describe the type of music he made. And while that band may have said goodbye in 2017, Valo is still waving the genre's flag on his first solo full-length, Neon Noir. Recently he and I sat... Continue Reading →
Progressive metal and post-metal made for a sold out show at Roadrunner in Boston last night, May 4. Here's some shots from the evening.
When I was doing promotion for my Depeche Mode book, I was linked up with Bradley Jay through mutual friends. A longtime Boston radio staple, Jay and I clicked pretty instantly over music, with him a fellow aficionado of all things synthpop. When he decided to launch his own post punk duo, Bridge Bender, I... Continue Reading →
I've always had a soft spot for Third Eye Blind, for a myriad of reasons. When I was in college at Temple University in the late-90s, the band was just breaking big. And while it didn't really fit in with anything else I was listening to, it was - on the surface - fun music.... Continue Reading →
Having talked to Scott Ian on three separate occasions for three different publications, I'm still not sure if he's a jerk, hardened New Yorker who carries the city's attitude with him wherever he goes or is just always on constant alert (i.e. paranoia) that people (i.e. interviewers, media, etc.) are trying to "gotcha!" him for... Continue Reading →
More times than not since it was established in 1983, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has come under fire from fans and critics for failing to get it right when it comes to putting the right people into the musical institution. This week the Hall announced its Class of 2023 nominees and, while... Continue Reading →
One of the tours I've been most amped about for 2023 so far is the co-headlining run of The Charlatans and RIDE. Both are two of my favorites from the early-90s UK music scene, and each are currently on the road performing one of their albums in its entirety. For RIDE it's the 1990 shoegaze... Continue Reading →
The way the music popularity pendulum has swung in recent times, rock and roll is on the backburner in favor of country pop, dance, hip-hop and K-pop are way ahead. In fact, if there were a backburner to the backburner, loud guitars and heavy-footed drums would be there. Upstarts like Greta Van Fleet, Thundermother and... Continue Reading →
There's been a lot of talk over the years about how maybe Brian Johnson didn't pen the songs on Back in Black, the biggest selling rock record in history. The theories go that the lyrics were actually lifted from the notebooks of the late Bon Scott, who died just before the recording sessions for the... Continue Reading →
Welcome to this year’s edition of Rock Music Menu’s “New Year’s Resolutions for Rockers Who Need Them,” where we assist musicians with setting goals for the coming 12 months. It’s not an easy job, but one that begrudgingly must be done. Rockers, rollers and performers of all sorts are just like us: they make resolutions... Continue Reading →
The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 