Nick Katsafanas

Album Reviews
Jewish Rastafan Wins Over Skeptics
Nick Katsafanas  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  1 comments

If you�re not yet familiar with him, Matisyahu is a 28-year-old white, Chassidic Jewish reggae-rapper/rocker from West Chester, Pennsylvania. Now read that over a few more times, do you have a mental picture yet? He dons the traditional dress of The Hasidic Jews, wears a long beard and sounds a bit like �Jr. Gong� Marley. In addition he�s a self proclaimed former-Deadhead, loves Phish and is an adept beat boxer. Now that I�ve got you scratching your head wondering if I�m making this all up, it would be a good time to add that he�s also a talented songwriter, and his album, Youth is quite the unique musical experience.

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Album Reviews
Another Moby Masterwork or Misstep?
Nick Katsafanas  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

In his first commercial release since 2005�s folk-laden Hotel ; Moby brings the eclectic Last Night . The album could be considered Moby�s return to the high-tempo dance music, which brought about his late 1990s fame. Whereas Hotel explored the synergy (and sometimes lack of) between guitar-strumming light rock and bass heavy electronica, Last Night is pure dance. Moby does not lend his voice to the double album�s 14 songs, but his cast of vocalists highlights his arranging skills.

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Album Reviews
Can Ryan Adams make a great album in seven songs?
Nick Katsafanas  |  Jun 01, 2008  |  1 comments
Ryan Adams is a song-writing machine. With over 206 tracks recorded, the 33-year-old singer/songwriter has amassed a deep and thorough song library. In 2007, he released two albums, an LP and an EP. His 2007 LP, Easy Tiger , received rave reviews and debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. While Easy Tiger was recorded during a time when Adams was going through Valium therapy to beat his heroin addiction, the EP Follow The Lights was written during a rare time of sobriety. Adams’ clear (er) mind state really shows.
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