The Chronicles of Michael Christopher
Music • Culture • Film • Travel • Photography • Vinyl
This Sunday [Dec. 6] at 9:00pm EST, I'll be appearing on Reelz when the channel premieres Metallica: The Story of the Songs. Reelz is available via most cable providers, streaming and satellite services. The show will be repeating over the next few days too, so be sure to check your local listings if you forget to... Continue Reading →
Forty years ago today, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin declared they would officially be breaking up, a little over two months removed from the untimely passing of drummer John Bonham on September 25, 1980 at the age of 32. Each of the surviving members - singer Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones and guitarist... Continue Reading →
The organizers behind Record Store Day have struggled this year, first needing to push their namesake holiday back and then into three separate “RSD Drops” days this fall across a series of months. It’s all worked out pretty well thus far, but now comes what used to be known as “Back to Black Friday,” heretofore... Continue Reading →
The long-awaited first taste of solo music from Wolfgang Van Halen was released this week, and it was a heartbreaker. Dedicated to his late father Eddie Van Halen, the song “Distance,” best described as pop rock with an edge that sees the 29-year-old singing and playing every instrument, is an emotional whirlwind reflective of the... Continue Reading →
Right about now, I should be chilling in a hot pot in the land of ice and snow for the annual Iceland Airwaves music festival, which I’ve been covering for nearly a decade. The coronavirus pandemic has put a hold on pretty much everything entertainment-wise though, and it’s become impossible to draw large groups of... Continue Reading →
Today marks 15 years since my grandfather, Charles F. Higgins Jr., passed away. It got me thinking about the small role he played in shaping the history of early rock and roll. Below is an article I wrote for The Daily Times a couple weeks before he died, and I thought now would be a... Continue Reading →
Even the most casual readers of this column know I’ve always been a big fan of Van Halen, evident in the number of articles written about them since taking over Rock Music Menu a decade and a half ago. It would be an understatement then to say how much of a shock it came when... Continue Reading →
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen passed away today at the age of 65. It's a brutal blow to music and to me personally as his namesake band was one of my favorites - hands down - when it came to rock and roll. I've got many memories from over the years involving Van Halen, and will be... Continue Reading →
When the Rolling Stones announced their return to the road in the summer of 1989, it was the guaranteed to be the hottest ticket in town as the band had been absent for an excruciatingly long seven years. The run to support the album Steel Wheels was filled with Philly tie-ins – it kicked off... Continue Reading →
It’s been nearly two decades since the shocking murder of Jam Master Jay, the pioneering DJ of legendary hip-hop act Run-DMC. Up until this week, no one had been charged in connection to the crime, leaving one of the most frustrating cold cases in music history. Tuesday afternoon, as part of a 10-count indictment that... Continue Reading →
The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 