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MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER

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Out: Matt Nathanson at City Hall Plaza's BBQ Beach Party

Homecoming king
If you take a gig for something called "BBQ Beach Party," you'd think there would be some pretty decent grub on hand. But that wasn't exactly the case for Lexington native Matt Nathanson last Friday.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | June 29, 2011

Peter Murphy | Ninth

Nettwerk (2011)
It used to be that casual music fans knew Peter Murphy only as the singer of Bauhaus's archetypal goth piece "Bela Lugosi's Dead." Times change, even for the undead, and since Murphy appeared in last year's Twilight Saga: Eclipse as the Cold One (a vampire, natch), horny pre- and post-pubescents now associate him with that dreadfully goth-lite world.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | June 29, 2011

The Go-Go's resurrect their new-wave Beat

Returning to the valley
It's common knowledge that the '80s were a wild time full of big hair, good drugs, and bad clothes.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | June 01, 2011

Eddie Vedder | Ukulele Songs

Monkeywrench (2011)
Unless your name is Tiny Tim or you perform with Michael J. Epstein, you shouldn't be putting out an entire album of ukulele songs; something just feels weird about it.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | May 27, 2011

Damon & Naomi mature in a separate galaxy

Outer rim
Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang are somewhere in the UK, en route to a gig in Cornwall.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | May 23, 2011

Moby | Destroyed

Mute (2011)
This was supposed to be some sort of acoustic jaunt, but Moby reverted to what he does best: sounding like Moby.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | May 12, 2011

Greg Dulli keeps his peace in the Twilight Singers

Still debonair
One of the most widely circulated Afghan Whigs bootlegs, from our own Paradise in May 1994, has the iconic alt-rock foursome busting out a loose and rollicking version of New Order's "Regret."

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | May 09, 2011

Foo Fighters | Wasting Light

Roswell/RCA (2011)
After Nirvana, Dave Grohl could easily have spent the rest of his career hiding behind a drum kit somewhere, but instead he risked undeserved scrutiny by jumping to the mic in front of his own creation.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | April 13, 2011

The Sounds | Something To Die For

SideOneDummy (2011)
The recent news that British electronic act Faithless have called it a day no doubt left dejected ravers reaching for extra MDMA to stave off the tears.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 31, 2011

The Gallagher brother talks about Noel, Oasis, and Beady Eye

Liam speaks
"It's not about getting beaten and 'See you later.' It's about getting beat, getting up, dusting yourself off, and smashing the fuck out of the next person you see in front of you." Liam Gallagher is talking about the possible return to the ring of his good friend the boxer Ricky Hatton, but he might as well be referring to his own reaction to the spate of backhanded compliments for his first post-Oasis record.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 18, 2011

DevilDriver | Beast

Roadrunner (2011)
Would it be blasphemous to compare DevilDriver with the almighty Pantera? Sure, perhaps. But the only reference for the bludgeoning brutality of Beast is the latter days of the Texas-based metal militants and their pushing of the envelope into breakneck energy, aggression, and power

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 09, 2011

Occult Detective Club | Crimes

Alive (2011)
It's tough coming up with anything new in punk rock that isn't going to sound as if you were trying too hard to reinvent something that's as basic as it gets

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | March 03, 2011

Girl Talk's success is no longer sample sized

Letting it rip
When the free download of All Day dropped unexpectedly in the middle of November, it exploded across the internet, leaving the mainstream media to explain what exactly Girl Talk is to those same people who don't know who Arcade Fire are.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 22, 2011

Thin Lizzy | Jailbreak

Mercury (2011)
For the sheer sake of keeping an underrated name out there, Thin Lizzy, and more specifically Jailbreak , fully deserve the deluxe-edition treatment.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 16, 2011

Spokes | Everyone I Ever Met

Counter (2011)
This Manchester five-piece couldn't have picked a worse time to release their stateside debut.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | February 09, 2011

Review: George Michael | Faith: Remastered

Legacy (2011)
Long before he was driving into storefronts and gladhanding undercover police officers in public restrooms, George Michael was in the closet and struggling to break free from having been in the short-shorts-wearing duo Wham! Faith did the trick, despite the ready-to-pin-up cover art.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 27, 2011

Nucleus Torn | Andromeda Waiting

Prophecy Productions (2011)
The consistency within Nucleus Torn - the experimental brainchild of Switzerland multi-instrumentalist Fredy Schnyder - is such that nothing is predictable.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 19, 2011

Social Distortion | Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes

Epitaph (2011)
There aren't many punk stalwarts who can weave a tale of being down and out quite like Mike Ness, and for the most part he's in top form on this seventh studio release from Social D.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 19, 2011

British Sea Power | Valhalla Dancehall

Rough Trade (2011)
It sounds as if British Sea Power were determined to shrug off those turn-of-the-millennia comparisons to Joy Division by making things harder, faster, stronger. But is it better?

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 08, 2011

Live review: The Upper Crust and the Lights Out rock New Year’s Eve

Dropping balls at Church in the Fens
An annual tradition, local fop-rock faves the Upper Crust headlined Church's NYE festivities for a fourth straight year, but rock upstarts the Lights Out provided a healthy bit of rock of their own during 2010's last gasp.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | January 04, 2011

The Who | Live at Leeds: 40th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Collector's Edition

Universal (2010)
Nearly three decades after launching a farewell tour, the Who continue to wring out dough from their fans both live and via recorded versions of their concerts.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 30, 2010