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MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER

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Gotye finds himself riding a YouTube smash

Somebody that you know
Wouter De Backer has heard it all.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 20, 2012

Modern Day Escape | Under The Gun

Standby Records (2012)
The second album by Orlando quintet Modern Day Escape doesn't reinvent the post-hardcore wheel, but there are still some tracks worth digging into.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 21, 2012

The Cranberries | Roses

Downtown (2012)
As a gift, roses are generic. It's fitting, then, that this would be the title of the Cranberries' first effort in more than a decade.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 13, 2012

Exclusive: Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone on the new Van Halen record

Inconvenient Truth
Last month, after Van Halen dropped A Different Kind of Truth (Interscope) — the rock legends' first album of all new material with original singer David Lee Roth in almost three decades—fans and detractors alike took to the Internet to vote yea or nay on the comeback gigs.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 08, 2012

The Black Keys rise to the arenas

Key bumps
When it was announced that the Black Keys were headlining the TD Garden, it looked like a mistake.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 28, 2012

Identifying with the sonic haze of Crocodiles

Psychic reaction
There are loads of bands out there that defy, don't want, and often downright despise categorization.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 15, 2012

Emo: it might as well be a four-letter word

De-evolution
Back in 2001, when Bleed American was exploding all over modern-rock radio, I sat down with Jimmy Eat World guitarist Tom Linton and frontman Jim Adkins and asked about the emo label with which their group had been saddled.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 08, 2012

Van Halen | A Different Kind of Truth

Interscope
Who would've thought Eddie Van Halen would still be innovative in his late 50s?

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 08, 2012

Off the record: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour | Out of Frequency

BMG Rights (2012)
Getting a boost with songs from their 2009 debut, Fruit , featured in iPod and Heineken ads, and getting handpicked as concert openers by a then-still-functioning Amy Winehouse in their native Copenhagen, the Asteroids Galaxy Tour rode a lucky streak out of the gate.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 31, 2012

You Me at Six | Sinners Never Sleep

Virgin Records (2011)
Sinners Never Sleep is a transitional album, though such efforts rarely bode as well for the future as this does.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 24, 2012

Seeker Lover Keeper | Seeker Lover Keeper

Spunk Records (2011)
Singer-songwriters forming supergroups is always risky.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 17, 2012

Interview: Michael Mayer, director of the Broadway tour of American Idiot

Green Day's rock opera comes to Boston
Michael Mayer has a history of being all over the map in the choices of plays he has directed. From Chekhov's Uncle Vanya to the smash rock musical Spring Awakening , he's consistently ventured out of the comfort zone.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 12, 2012

Snow Patrol | Fallen Empires

Interscope (2011)
Word on the street had Snow Patrol looking to change up the big anthem sound for their sixth release.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 10, 2012

The Dø | Both Ways Open Jaws

Six Degrees Records (2011)
For people put off by the epic grandeur of Björk's recent Biophilia multimedia spectacle and longing for the song structures of Post and Homogenic , Both Ways Open Jaws will more than suffice.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | December 14, 2011

Getting rocked with Cocked N' Loaded

Plus, Mellow Bravo crashes the New Year’s Eve party
Two years ago, Cocked N' Loaded opened for the rabble-rousing Upper Crust at the now-defunct Harpers Ferry in Allston.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | December 14, 2011

From Cheers to China with Greg Luttrell

Custom fit
It's a Saturday afternoon in Jamaica Plain and Greg Luttrell is sipping a house special at Canary Square.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | December 06, 2011

Chris Cornell | Songbook

Universal (2011)
Chris Cornell's reaction to the critical lynching his Timbaland-produced debacle Scream took in 2009 was to grow his hair back out, reunite with Soundgarden (currently in the studio), and embark on a solo tour stripped down to just an acoustic guitar.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | December 06, 2011

The Black Keys | El Camino

Nonesuch (2011)
El Camino has the unenviable task of following up last year's Brothers, but instead of trying to outdo its acclaimed predecessor, it scales things back and cranks up the volume.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 29, 2011

The Rolling Stones | Some Girls

Universal
Hindsight demands each deluxe reissue of a Rolling Stones record be declared a masterpiece, despite the reality that for every flawless Let It Bleed there is a Steel Wheels stumble, with 1978's Some Girls falling somewhere in the middle of a spotty five-decade recording career.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 22, 2011

Caveman | Coco Beware

Magic Man! Records/ORG Music (2011)
Hold up on that Brooklyn backlash just yet, there's still some sweet music coming out of the trendiest and most despised of the five boroughs.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 16, 2011

Megadeth | Th1rt3en

Roadrunner (2011)
While Metallica is in Lulu-land, in the doghouse of fans and critics alike, sometime-nemesis Megadeth stay the metal course with another solid release served without the pretense of musical evolution or artsy growth.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 09, 2011