The Chronicles of Michael Christopher
Music • Culture • Film • Travel • Photography • Vinyl
It's hard to believe 30 years have passed since "Enter Sandman" completely changed the way the mainstream viewed heavy metal. Metallica ended up with one of the biggest hits of their career, shifted both radio and MTV in one fell swoop, and it all happened by riffing on a nightmare scenario of getting sand in... Continue Reading →
Tonight (Friday, July 9) I’ll be appearing on Coast to Coast AM to talk about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Jim Morrison, 50 years after the world found out that the singer for the Doors had died of heart failure in Paris at the age of 27. Was it simply a case of... Continue Reading →
The Sammy Hagar vs. David Lee Roth debate will likely go on forever, but the first time any real comparison could be made was when the latter dropped his debut solo LP, Eat 'Em and Smile, in July 1986, a scant few months after Van Halen released their first effort with Hagar at the mic,... Continue Reading →
Following two keyboard-driven albums, Van Halen got back to basics on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, their third LP with singer Sammy Hagar. Part of that had to do with the ever shifting musical landscape and a need to stay relevant, but it also was due to bringing in producer Andy Johns, who had previously worked... Continue Reading →
It’s a sad week for the rock music scene with the passing of Jeff LaBar, best known as guitarist for Cinderella, one of the standout acts on the mid-80s Philly rock and roll scene. He was 58 years old. The band, which also featured singer/guitarist Tom Keifer, bassist Eric Brittingham and drummer Fred Coury, were... Continue Reading →
Load, the follow-up to Metallica's squillion-selling Black Album, was widely considered to be a bit of a letdown when it came out 25 years ago. That's not exactly a fault of the band, look at any other landmark effort in an artist's catalog and the LP that came after it rarely lives up to the... Continue Reading →
Come the late spring of 1991, it had been just over three years since a new album by Van Halen was released. It was long overdue then when the single "Poundcake" dropped ahead of the upcoming For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge LP that June. Starting with the sound of a drill raking over the strings of... Continue Reading →
One of the fascinating stories I discovered in recent years was how Jimmy Page jumped onstage with a couple of different bar bands in Lake Tahoe back in 1991 while he was there to work on material with David Coverdale for their collaboration together. Versed in the history of all things Led Zeppelin as I... Continue Reading →
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced it’s 2021 induction class this week with a mixed bag of genres represented by alt-rockers Foo Fighters, rapper Jay Z, pop punkers the Go-Go’s, R&B star Tina Turner, singer/songwriter Carole King and Upper Darby’s own Todd Rundgren all getting the nod as performers. Also on deck for... Continue Reading →
Aerosmith had their breakthrough record in 1975 with Toys in the Attic, but it would be the next year's follow-up, Rocks, that remains the fan favorite to this day among hardcore fans. It sees the Boston outfit at their most, well, rocking, on classics like "Back in the Saddle" and "Rats in the Cellar," alongside... Continue Reading →
The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 