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Stephanie Benson Genre Editor: Alt/Indie The Mix: View Posts Follow:  An avid concertgoer, closet backup dancer, shower singer, Rock Band drummer and three-chord guitar player, Stephanie Benson employs such talents as a Rhapsody editor, specializing in alternative and indie rock, along with the occasional weepy singer-songwriter. Aside from music, she has a mild TV obsession, especially involving anything written by Larry David. She also enjoys boxing, exploring San Francisco via scooter and doing the rare backflip. |
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Top 5 Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine Pixies: Doolittle Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New York Modest Mouse: The Moon & Antarctica Radiohead: OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows (tie) |
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Nate Cavalieri Genre Editor: Jazz, Classical The Mix: View Posts Nate Cavalieri was raised in Central Michigan and studied classical music and jazz at the Interlochen Arts Academy and Oberlin Conservatory of Music — an impressive pedagogy he dutifully squandered by touring with Detroit garage-rock bands in the blurry early '00s. He divides his time between writing about jazz, classical and rock music for Rhapsody; authoring guidebooks for Lonely Planet; and writing about professional cycling for anyone who cares. |
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Top 5 Charles Mingus: Changes One Dr. John: Gris Gris Don Pullen: Plays Monk Richard & Linda Thompson: I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight Richard Goode: The Complete Beethoven Sonatas |
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Rachel Devitt Genre Editor: Pop, World, Latin The Mix: View Posts Follow: Rachel Devitt's writings about pop, world and Latin music have appeared in the Village Voice, Time Out and the Seattle Times — and of course, right here on Rhapsody. In her other life, she is also an academic with a PhD in ethnomusicology who studies, teaches and writes about burlesque, drag, and uh, pop, world and Latin music. She lives in Chicago, but does not really like deep dish pizza or hot dogs. |
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The Albums that Make Me Want to Be a Drag Queen Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Hedwig and the Angry Inch Yma Sumac: Mambo! Labelle: Nightbirds Scissor Sisters: Scissor Sisters La Lupe: Puro Teatro Esma Redzepova: Chaje Shukarije Janet Jackson: Control |
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Chuck Eddy Genre Editor: Metal The Mix: View Posts Rhapsody metal editor Chuck Eddy is the author of the books Stairway to Hell, The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll and Rock and Roll Always Forgets. He has served as an editor at the Village Voice and Billboard, and has written thousands of pieces over the years for Creem, Rolling Stone and countless other publications. A native of Detroit, he now lives in Austin, Tex. |
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Five metal/hard rock albums on Rhapsody that "define" me Babe Ruth: Grand Slam: The Best of Babe Ruth Brownsville Station: School Punks Cauldron: Burning Fortune Girlschool: Hit and Run Voivod: Killing Technology |
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Justin Farrar Genre Editor: Rock The Mix: View Posts Follow: Justin Farrar has been writing about music for, like, a long time. His work has appeared in the Village Voice, Yeti, Seattle Weekly, Cleveland's Scene magazine, Vice, Burning Ambulance and numerous other publications. He and his wife live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, where they'd rather be hiking than sitting in front of a computer. Oh, and one more thing: Ben Chasny, aka Six Organs of Admittance, appears to hate his guts. |
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Top 5 Miles Davis: Agharta John Martyn: Inside Out BNJMN: Plastic World Television Personalities: The Painted Word Keith Hudson: Brand |
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Rob Harvilla Managing Editor The Mix: View Posts Follow: Rob Harvilla grew up in Ohio, decided in his teenage years to be a rock critic while reading back issues of Rolling Stone in his orthodontist's office (Dr. Pfister, P-F-I-S-T-E-R), and went on to serve as music editor for the Village Voice and various other alt-weeklies, in addition to writing freelance for Spin, Pitchfork, Blender and what have you. He can currently be found pushing a stroller around Oakland's Lake Merritt; look for the A's hat, the grizzly beard, and the bewildered facial expression. |
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Top 5 The Cars: The Cars Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump Curtis Mayfield: Curtis Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense Titus Andronicus: The Monitor |
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Garrett Kamps Director of Music Programming The Mix: View Posts Garrett Kamps has been writing about music, with varying degrees of professionalism, since 2000, first for now-defunct websites, then for a variety of paper publications, one of which (SF Weekly) actually put him on its staff. He's been with Rhapsody since 2006 and currently leads its rag-tag team of editorial misfits. His crowning achievement is passing his mom off as a journalist so she could interview Rod Stewart. |
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Five Great Albums, in No Particular Order Rachel's: Music for Egon Schiele Slayer: Reign in Blood Operation Ivy: Energy Little Wings: Magic Wand Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 |
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Marley Lovell Genre Editor: Reggae The Mix: View Posts Follow: Marley promises that that's his real birth name, yes. After getting his first drum at the tender age of two and attending reggae festivals as family vacations, music became an integral part of his life; after playing jazz professionally as a teenager and attending college in New Orleans, he returned to the Bay Area and re-embraced both reggae and Rhapsody. His non-musical interests include the Golden State Warriors, outdoor sports, astronomy, tattoos, giraffes, and tattoos of giraffes. |
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Five Great Albums, in No Particular Order Bob Marley: Catch a Fire Luciano: Sweep Over My Soul Ini Kamoze: Here Comes the Hotstepper Jah Cure: Ghetto Life Sizzla: Black Woman & Child |
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Mike McGuirk Genre Editor: Rock The Mix: View Posts Follow: Posing as an expert in new country and Christian rock, Mike McGuirk began writing for Rhapsody in 1999, when it was a startup called Listen.com. Since then he has parlayed his geek-level interest in everything from blues masters Howlin' Wolf and James Booker to grindcore kings Pig Destroyer to Swedish torture-metal duo Abruptum (with a concentration in the rock music of the '70s) into various writing gigs, mainly with Rhapsody and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. He lives in San Francisco. |
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McGuirk's Top Five James Gang: Live in Concert James Booker: Junco Partner Sleep: Sleep's Holy Mountain eyehategod: Southern Discomfort The Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya Ya's Out |
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Wendy Lee Nentwig Genre Editor: Christian/Gospel The Mix: View Posts Follow: Whether it's CCM, Christian rock, worship or singer-songwriter stuff, Wendy Lee's been writing about it for nearly 20 years and listening to it for even longer. After soaking up a wide array of sounds while living in Southern California, Amsterdam and New York City, she settled in Nashville, a town with a great musical legacy and status as the unofficial home of Christian music. As a result, she's had a front-row seat for the genre's heyday, the crossover years and the rise of the indie artist, giving her a unique perspective on where Christian music's been and where it's headed. |
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Top 5 Rich Mullins: A Liturgy, a Legacy & a Ragamuffin Band Patty Griffin: Living with Ghosts Amy Grant: Lead Me On The Decemberists: The Crane Wife Andrew Peterson: Carried Along |
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Mosi Reeves Genre Editor: Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B The Mix: View Posts Follow: Mosi Reeves' musical tastes were shaped by the "keep it janky" ethos of downtown Sacramento. He absorbed headphone masterpieces by Company Flow, DJ Spooky, Project Blowed and former local DJ Shadow; chugged beer at !!!, Outhud and Unwound concerts; stayed up all night gabbing to the sounds of Sonic Youth, Stereolab and Modest Mouse; and went to raves to hear DJs spin Black Science Orchestra, Armand Van Helden and Roni Size. A job editing event listings for the San Francisco Bay Guardian gave him a ticket out, but he has carried a bit of Sactown with him ever since (and occasionally moved back). He currently lives in Oakland. |
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Top 5 Five Records from My 1996 Soundtrack DJ Shadow: Endtroducing Modest Mouse: This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About DJ Spooky: Songs of a Dead Dreamer Ghostface Killah: Ironman Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup |
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Linda Ryan Genre Editor: Country The Mix: View Posts Follow: With an overarching enthusiasm for music (which bordered on obsession during her stint as a college-radio DJ), Linda Ryan started writing for Rhapsody in 2000. Since then, she's ridden a wave of adventure and seen her eagerness to explore new music blossom. Currently, her passion lies in all things country music, whether it's the traditional twang of George Strait, the fire and brimstone of Miranda Lambert or the sublime pleasure found in a George and Tammy duet. |
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Top 5 Country(ish) Albums to Clean My House To Miranda Lambert: Revolution The Wolfe Tones: Up the Rebels Keith Urban: Be Here Steve Earle: Copperhead Road Dwight Yoakam: Hillbilly Deluxe |
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Philip Sherburne Genre Editor: Electronic The Mix: View Posts Follow: Raised in Portland, Ore., and based these days in Berlin, Philip Sherburne has been writing about music and culture for over a decade. Published in Pitchfork, The Wire, Spin, the New York Times, Resident Advisor and many others, he is considered a leading voice in electronic-music criticism. When he's not writing, you can find him DJing and releasing the occasional 12-inch single. |
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Electronic Top 5 New Order: Power Corruption and Lies Basic Channel: Radiance Boards of Canada: Music Has the Right to Children Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Vol. II Alvin Lucier: I Am Sitting in a Room |
