The Chronicles of Michael Christopher
Writings. Musings. Mediocre Photography. Travel. Skulls.
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 →
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 →
According to the most hardcore of Van Halen fans, the fourth album, Fair Warning, is unquestionably their best. It's pretty safe to say I fall into that lot, so it only made sense for me to do a track-by-track of the record for Ultimate Classic Rock. The piece can be found here, but it's worth... Continue Reading →
It was really going downhill in early 1996 for Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, and the drama surrounding "Humans Being," a song they initially did for the soundtrack to the film Twister, was the final straw for the second era of the band. Over at Ultimate Classic Rock, I did a deep dive on just... Continue Reading →
Anniversaries are nothing new when it comes to music writing. It helps quite a bit during dry times when there isn't much else happening in the industry. That's been the case over the past several months due to the pandemic, and it will be for many more to come unfortunately. The silver lining is there's... Continue Reading →
I'm incredibly excited to announce my second book is slated for release in fall 2021! Titled, Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock, it's something I've been working on for some time and have wanted to do forever. It will be published via Backbeat Books, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, the same publishers who... 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 →
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 →
Tonight (Friday, October 9) I'll be appearing on Coast to Coast AM to talk about the legacy of Eddie Van Halen with host Ian Punnett. It'll be during the first segment, 1:00am - 3:00am ET/10:00pm - 12:00am PT, and can be listened to live on SiriusXM Channel 146 along with a host of terrestrial stations... Continue Reading →
