I was lucky enough to have an essay about Route 66, my Dad (Joe Ranft), and Pixar picked up by the wonderful Hidden Compass this summer. Give it a gander. hiddencompass.net/story/legaci...
Legacies and Lightning McQueen - Hidden Compass
Along the majestic miles of Route 66 lie the lessons of Pixar co-director Joe Ranft. Decades after his dad’s death, Jordan Ranft sets out to find them.
hiddencompass.net
WE RECOMMEND: The Callous Daoboys: I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven "Approach this album blind, buckle up and let it take you by surprise."
The Callous Daoboys: I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven - Spectrum Culture
Approach this album blind, buckle up and let it take you by surprise.
spectrumculture.com
For all creatures void of form, no shelter from the Tropical Fuck Storm. spectrumculture.com/2025/06/24/t...
Tropical Fuck Storm: Fairyland Codex - Spectrum Culture
It’s taking bad acid on a beautiful day, it’s surf-rock with a mood disorder, it’s the new Tropical Fuck Storm album.
spectrumculture.com
Reviewed the new Aesop Rock album for @spectrumculture.bsky.social. 30 years in, the man is still spinning gold. spectrumculture.com/2025/06/03/a...
Aesop Rock: Black Hole Superette - Spectrum Culture
At almost 50 years old, it is good to see Aesop Rock as in control of his lyrics and production as ever, but it is even better to find him more comfortable participating in the world around him than e...
spectrumculture.com
Excited to report that I have finally gotten my first "hater." Join the party by reading my, apparently divisive, music reviews over at @spectrumculture.bsky.social
Edilson (aka Son of Edil)@canoeskin.bsky.social · last yr.@jordan-ranft.bsky.social that part explains everything
"In good news for freaky little weirdos, the new Mclusky album is out." Got to review Mclusky's strange and abrasive comeback record for @spectrumculture.bsky.social spectrumculture.com/2025/05/08/m...
Mclusky: the world is still here and so are we - Spectrum Culture
Mclusky is most likely an acquired taste. What this record proves, though, is that this “taste,” whatever it may be, has not been diluted some 20 years later.
spectrumculture.com
Seems like all people want to do is shit on SF these days. Wrote an article about something nice happening in the city for once! www.inspitemagazine.com/in-spite-art...
San Francisco’s Not Dead: FNG at The Independent — In Spite Magazine
Jordan Ranft takes in Family Not a Group (FNG), a 17-person collective of rappers, singers, DJs, and artists, at The Independent in San Francisco, CA.
inspitemagazine.com
Aesop Rock is one of the reasons I got into music criticism. Mainly, because it lets me talk about Aesop Rock's music at length without annoying everyone at the dinner table. Anyway, here's 1k words on Aesop Rock courtesy of @spectrumculture.bsky.social
Spectrum Culture@spectrumculture.bsky.social · 2y agoFor those about to Rock: We revisit Aesop Rock's mid-career masterpiece of transition, "None Shall Pass." spectrumculture.com/2025/03/10/r...
Joshua Burnside consistently ends up in my top artists every year and it's been such a cool opportunity to review his newest album for @spectrumculture.bsky.social
Spectrum Culture@spectrumculture.bsky.social · 2y agoWE RECOMMEND: Joshua Burnside: Teeth of Time "Teeth of Time rewards its listeners for their patience and attention. The same thing could be said, funnily enough, about parenthood. Well played, Burnside."
I went out to Berkeley for the inaugural Dollfest, a 2-day punk/rock festival that focuses on femme-fronted bands, and wrote for @spectrumculture.bsky.social about the music, the politicization of identity, and how gatekeeping is dumb. spectrumculture.com/2025/03/04/d...
Dollfest - Spectrum Culture
A femme-centric festival builds a more open community and sounds great doing it.
spectrumculture.com
I do find some satisfaction in knowing Elon Musk will never be able to buy his way into people thinking he's cool. That guy is probably in the White House right now doing the Naruto run and asking people if his jacket makes him look like Brandon Lee.
Our February issue live! With our trademark mix of poetry and visual art, a new critique column on the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, a spoken word audioscape, and several music tracks, including a preview of the new album by Dave Sims and Scott Spearly (The Knuckle Dusters). ogre.red
@spectrumculture.bsky.social let me review the frantic and brutal new project for Melbourne-based grind band, Choof. Really cool of them because this is a small band that makes music that most people would find borderline unlistenable. 4/5 Stars. Would recommend. spectrumculture.com/2025/01/30/c...
Choof: A Very Special Blend of Psychology and Extreme Violence - Spectrum Culture
Sometimes, it’s all right to turn on a record that does nothing but make your ears bleed.
spectrumculture.com
Been doing free-writes every morning to create a better practice around writing and oof! the free flow of ideas and emotions can be pretty cringe sometimes!
Happy to report that I am back writing about music for @spectrumculture.bsky.social First piece back is a review of the Boldy James & whothehelliscarlo EP that dropped last month. Take a gander! spectrumculture.com/2025/01/08/b...
Boldy James & whothehelliscarlo: Hidden in Plain Sight - Spectrum Culture
The prolific rapper returns, with more dense wordplay, stripped-down production and tales from the Motor City streets.
spectrumculture.com
A new year isn't really new until I've submitted a packet of poems to several lit journals with unbelievably low acceptance rates. Shout out to the @coloradoreview.bsky.social for keeping me humble.
Hearing Boldy James rap "The work whiter than Dawson's Creek" cured my seasonal depression for half a day.
Who would have guessed an exhibition match between a YouTuber and 58-year-old man would end up being an over-promoted letdown?
Hey folks! The good people at Wrong Publishing were kind enough to put out my strange little chapbook last year and now you can read it digitally for zero dollars!
Wrong Publishing@wrongpublishing.bsky.social · 2y agoThings are not ok. There's not a lot we can do as a random small press in Canada, but at the very least, gatekeeping books is not something we want to continue. I've decided now until forever, all our digital chapbooks are $0/pay-what-you-can. Sending love & lit <3
Howdy. Wasn't very good at twitter, doubt I'll be good at this one either. I'm an associate clinical social worker and amateur writer. Looking to plug into some digital community.
