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As of March 28, 2000, Christopher had about 300 CDs in his collection. He says that if he were in a rock band, he'd be the frontman (Mar 3 2000), but admits that he doesn't play any instruments. At one point, Chris would "strum the guitar mindlessly" (May 18 2000), but now says, "I used to play the guitar. Now I attempt to dabble every once in a while" (Apr 8 2004). Chris likes "rock and old school" music, like Led Zeppelin, Tool, Steely Dan, Traffic and The Sundays (Feb 7 2000). He prefers rock and roll to rap (Dec 27 1999) and "disliked greatly" old-school hip-hop (Dec 29 2000), but says that rap-metal is "just a new way to express" (Dec 6 2001). More recently, he said, "Rap and hip-hop are not my first choice, but when done well, I totally hook into it" (Feb 2 2005). Christopher says he "loves ska much" (Aug 30 2000) and loves The English Beat (Oct 1 2000), but only likes reggae in "small doses" (Dec 16 2000). He says that he "can be swayed" towards country music (Apr 26 2005). His favourites when listening to classical music are "DeBussy, Mozart, Beethoven and Bach" (Mar 30 2000). Chris's all-time favourite Christmas song is "The Little Drummer Boy" (Jan 24 2005). He likes to dance to trance music (Oct 4 2000) and to "middle eastern/techno" (Jan 20 2005). Chris says he is not a fan of opera music (Apr 18 2000), does not like the blues (Oct 17 2000) and is irritated by "anything from Styx" and "most Top 40" (Dec 2 2000). If Chris were to be stranded on a desert island, he would take along any Tool album, as well as music by Steely Dan, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, Portishead and The Sundays (Dec 8 1999). His favourite song is "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," by Traffic (Jan 3 2000). When a fan asked for Chris's take on the song's meaning, he replied, "I think the song is a reaction to the glam rock of that day: the low spark (lack of talent) of high-heeled (big-haired glam) boys" (Jan 26 2001). His favourite Steely Dan album is Can't Buy a Thrill (Apr 17 2000), favourite Pink Floyd album is Animals (Dec 29 2000) and favourite Beatles albums are Rubber Soul and Abbey Road (Dec 4 2000). Chris's favourite Elvis Costello song is "Watching the Detectives" (Oct 1 2000) and his song preferences when it comes to Led Zeppelin are "The Song Remains the Same" and the Presence album (July 24 2000). His favourite Sundays albums are their first and second (July 10 2000). "Icehouse," by the band of the same name, is a song from the 1970s that Chris thinks did not get the kind of recognition it deserved (Dec 14 2000). Christopher thinks that Tina Turner is "hot, hot, hot" and says he "loved" Eric Clapton when he was with The Dominoes (Oct 17 2000). He attended a Sting concert and said that it "was great. The evening was beautiful. He seemed most into his most recent stuff, so that's what I liked" (Sept 17 2000). Of Aimee Mann, Chris says he "loves her much" (Feb 12 2001) and especially likes her song "David Denies" (Apr 9 2001). Other songwriters that Chris enjoys are Leonard Cohen and Sheryl Crow (Apr 9 2001). He also says that you "can’t go wrong with Tom Waits" (Apr 11 2001); Chris loves Waits's "inventiveness" (June 8 2001). Chris says that he loves "many female singers and eclectic sounds like Groove Armada, Enigma, BT Movement - dig it baby" (Sept 29 2003). Bands that he recommends are Portishead and BT Movement (Sept 8 2004). Chris likes The Talking Heads, saying that they were a "very unique/important band" (Sept 12 2002). Rush is Chris's favourite 1980s band (Aug 28 2001) and he is fan of Queen (Sept 18 2001). He likes Chris Isaak (Apr 29 2001) and has had music by Toad the Wet Sprocket spinning in his CD player (Mar 3 2000) On the other hand, the goofiest CD in his collection is by the Jackson 5 (Jan 31 2005). Chris says that "KISS was like Menudo to me: I wasn't buying" (Oct 28 2000) and dismisses he band Gobsmack as being "a little one note fer my taste" (Feb 12 2001). Of the metal band Mudvayne (who went to the MTV Video Music Awards in blood-stained dinner jackets and fake bullet wounds in their heads just prior to the events of 9/11), Chris says: "I've heard of them. I didn't see the MTV thing, but I wonder how cute and shocking they think that get-up is now, after what's just happened" (Sept 18 2001). Chris prefers Prince to Michael Jackson and Madonna to Janet Jackson (Dec 25 2002). At one point, Chris said he wouldn't know Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera "if I tripped over them" (Aug 20 2000). When more aware, he said the following of both Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez: "Puhleeze" (Dec 25 2002). He is not familiar with the Backstreet Boys (Dec 8 1999) and "knows nothing" of Hilary Duff (Apr 20 2005). Christopher has been quite vocal about his love for the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. If he could play an instrument and sing like a famous singer, he'd play the guitar and sing like Maynard Keenan, the founder of both bands (June 12 2000). Of Tool, Chris says, "The music is sinuous, textured and intelligent. I just connect" (Oct 23 2001). Chris says that Tool is "ever evolving" (Oct 23 2001) and has grown over the years: "I think they've worked through a lot of anger and are now expressing different ways of their growth spiritually" (May 3 2005). As of January 21, 2000, Chris had seen the band in concert three times; at one point, he said that one of those concerts was the best rock and roll show that he'd ever attended (Aug 4 2000). When asked whether he thinks he influenced Lee Tergesen, who is also a Tool fan, Chris responded, "I think I helped Lee see the light" (Oct 23 2001). When a fan asked him what bands or musicians other than Tool catch his interest, Chris named Radiohead and Nick Drake (June 22 2003). Chris’s favourite Tool songs are "Flood," "Undertow," "Stinkfist," "Third Eye," "Forty-six and 2" and "Lateralis" (May 18 2001; Nov 9 2001). For a first-time listener of Tool, Chris would recommend the album Aenima (Oct 19 2001). "Stinkfist" is his favourite song to sing while driving or showering (Oct 12 2001). Chris finds A Perfect Circle "brilliant" (July 10 2000) and says that in comparison to Tool, the band is "melodic and not as edgy" (Mar 3 2001). His favourite song by A Perfect Circle is "Judith" (May 18 2001). He recently went to a Perfect Circle concert, calling it "un-fucking-believable" (Jan 24 2005). When asked if he "believes in rock and roll," Chris replied that he believed in only "one-tenth of one percent of it. The rest is what it is: the big corporate sell, appealing to the lowest, dumbest denominator. Just watch MTV and get back to me" (Sept 24 2000). In response to whether he thinks there's too much violence on television (and whether there are "acceptable levels" of violence in that medium), he said, "I honestly believe there is too much violence in music and in the Middle East...TV? No. What's acceptable? Don't like it, don't watch. I don't like the music, I don't listen...I also don't travel to the Middle East" (Oct 14 2000). When all is said and done, Christopher says that his favourite music to fall asleep to is the sound of his "wife and baby breathing" (Nov 9 2001). Last updated: March 04/06 | |