The Chronicles of Michael Christopher
Writings. Musings. Mediocre Photography. Travel. Skulls.
It's one thing to have what is arguably the greatest crossover heavy metal song in history. It's quite another to be accused to finding major amounts of inspiration in said song not just in independent acts from a parallel label, but the guitarist and co-founder you fired many years prior. An unknown Los Angeles band,... 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 →
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 →
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 →
It’s typically an honor to be parodied in one way or the other on The Simpsons, but legendary alt-rock moper Morrissey thinks otherwise following the long-running cartoon taking deep aim at his career, beliefs and lifestyle this past Sunday. It’s made for one of the most controversial episodes in the program’s history. For those unfamiliar,... Continue Reading →
Making her debut as the musical act on Saturday Night Live last weekend, Phoebe Bridgers has spent recent days since facing a public skewering that would be laughable if it weren’t so misplaced and wildly off base. The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter raised the ire of many for committing what they saw as a cardinal sin... Continue Reading →
Just like you and I, there are rockers, rollers and other assorted musical miscreants out there who need help keeping their declared promises to make the next 12 months better than the dozen prior. It shouldn’t be that hard to improve upon the raging dumpster fire of 2020, but – hey – people thought the... 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 →
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 →
Chris Cornell should've turned 56 today. Not "would've" - should've. Crippled by depression, he took his own life three Mays ago at 52. It was so incredibly unexpected, heartbreaking and brutal. That day sticks with me like the JFK assassination does for boomers. Seriously - it was that intense and I'll never, ever forget the... Continue Reading →
