Rob Rankin
@robrankin.bsky.social
composer | music theory/comp professor U of Utah | husband (@maxecoleman.bsky.social) | record collector | chicago cubs fan | occasional writer of words (http://robrankin.substack.com)
robertrankinmusic.com
robertrankinmusic.com
I'm giving a talk on how musical structure can function as a kind of metaphor. Come out and hear me blab about Beethoven, Berg, and, humbly, me!
music.utah.edu/events/?trum...
music.utah.edu/events/?trum...
November 10, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I'm giving a talk on how musical structure can function as a kind of metaphor. Come out and hear me blab about Beethoven, Berg, and, humbly, me!
music.utah.edu/events/?trum...
music.utah.edu/events/?trum...
Picked up this hefty boy from the Hollywood Amoeba Music (for a bargain) and have been gradually making my way through the 106 discs. I'm a little over halfway there. Two takeaways:
1. These Mozart Pno. Concerto/Symphony recordings are unparalleled
2. The La Mer recording is shockingly terrible!
1. These Mozart Pno. Concerto/Symphony recordings are unparalleled
2. The La Mer recording is shockingly terrible!
October 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Picked up this hefty boy from the Hollywood Amoeba Music (for a bargain) and have been gradually making my way through the 106 discs. I'm a little over halfway there. Two takeaways:
1. These Mozart Pno. Concerto/Symphony recordings are unparalleled
2. The La Mer recording is shockingly terrible!
1. These Mozart Pno. Concerto/Symphony recordings are unparalleled
2. The La Mer recording is shockingly terrible!
The Friday Night Record of Choice
September 27, 2025 at 1:02 AM
The Friday Night Record of Choice
Oktoberfest-ed with @maxecoleman.bsky.social in beautiful, autumnal Snowbird, UT. Prost!!
September 21, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Oktoberfest-ed with @maxecoleman.bsky.social in beautiful, autumnal Snowbird, UT. Prost!!
When I moved to Utah a little over two years ago, @kuer.org was my way into better understanding my new home. After the recent cuts to NPR, they need your donations now (quite literally) more than ever! Today is the last day of their fall fund drive, AND they have a snazzy mug! kuer.org
September 19, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Peter Gelb is back at it.
September 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Peter Gelb is back at it.
Writing about the Met’s radio broadcasts and found this *very* *VERY* Utah historical gem:
August 31, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Writing about the Met’s radio broadcasts and found this *very* *VERY* Utah historical gem:
I gotta say, this dude has for his entire life, without fail, associated himself solely with terrible people. Not even like iffy, lukewarm people. Just objectively awful folks.
August 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I gotta say, this dude has for his entire life, without fail, associated himself solely with terrible people. Not even like iffy, lukewarm people. Just objectively awful folks.
A purely investigative trip to stakeout the Cubs' competition
July 24, 2025 at 2:23 PM
A purely investigative trip to stakeout the Cubs' competition
A week ago, I married the love of my life @maxecoleman.bsky.social, and you all are about to be bombarded with photos.
June 30, 2025 at 1:33 AM
A week ago, I married the love of my life @maxecoleman.bsky.social, and you all are about to be bombarded with photos.
What makes these AI utopian statements so depressing is the attitude that learning is simply fact gathering and problem solving. That knowledge is always goal oriented.
The arts and humanities, in which total understanding is impossible (and the point), mystifies these tech bros.
The arts and humanities, in which total understanding is impossible (and the point), mystifies these tech bros.
June 16, 2025 at 11:46 AM
What makes these AI utopian statements so depressing is the attitude that learning is simply fact gathering and problem solving. That knowledge is always goal oriented.
The arts and humanities, in which total understanding is impossible (and the point), mystifies these tech bros.
The arts and humanities, in which total understanding is impossible (and the point), mystifies these tech bros.
(this is the actual audio from the parade)
June 14, 2025 at 10:57 PM
(this is the actual audio from the parade)
Watching the Tr*mp Birthday Bash and Parade, emceed by someone who can only be described as a bargain bin Casey Kasem.
In all honesty, this all-threatening, North Korea cosplay is really lame and boring. Take it from the birthday boy himself...
In all honesty, this all-threatening, North Korea cosplay is really lame and boring. Take it from the birthday boy himself...
June 14, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Watching the Tr*mp Birthday Bash and Parade, emceed by someone who can only be described as a bargain bin Casey Kasem.
In all honesty, this all-threatening, North Korea cosplay is really lame and boring. Take it from the birthday boy himself...
In all honesty, this all-threatening, North Korea cosplay is really lame and boring. Take it from the birthday boy himself...
Working on a project about Irving Berlin, and it is kind of astonishing how shameless some of these copy-and-paste follow ups to 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' are.
June 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Working on a project about Irving Berlin, and it is kind of astonishing how shameless some of these copy-and-paste follow ups to 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' are.
Going back through some old Substack posts this afternoon. This is from November 2nd of last year. You didn't have to be Nostradamus to see this coming...
June 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Going back through some old Substack posts this afternoon. This is from November 2nd of last year. You didn't have to be Nostradamus to see this coming...
Why do I get the feeling these two headlines are related?
June 11, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Why do I get the feeling these two headlines are related?
Pre-Tony Award Plea: Audra McDonald *deserves* a seventh Tony for Gypsy! I saw one of the last previews before it opened, and her interpretation of that role is masterful. I felt like I was hit by a truck by the end of the show!
Without a doubt the best performance I have ever seen.
Without a doubt the best performance I have ever seen.
June 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Pre-Tony Award Plea: Audra McDonald *deserves* a seventh Tony for Gypsy! I saw one of the last previews before it opened, and her interpretation of that role is masterful. I felt like I was hit by a truck by the end of the show!
Without a doubt the best performance I have ever seen.
Without a doubt the best performance I have ever seen.
Ladies and gents, the Chicago Cubs have the best record in the National League!
June 4, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Ladies and gents, the Chicago Cubs have the best record in the National League!
Antique Roadshowing with @maxecoleman.bsky.social (we are now multi-millionaires)
June 3, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Antique Roadshowing with @maxecoleman.bsky.social (we are now multi-millionaires)
Yes, they did. Because mothers were taken away from babies, and their cries and screams were recorded and made public, and then there was an election in 2020 and another in 2024.
They just didn’t think it would be mothers *they* knew.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
They just didn’t think it would be mothers *they* knew.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
June 2, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Yes, they did. Because mothers were taken away from babies, and their cries and screams were recorded and made public, and then there was an election in 2020 and another in 2024.
They just didn’t think it would be mothers *they* knew.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
They just didn’t think it would be mothers *they* knew.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
You gotta hand it to them: it is honestly astonishing to be this naïve and stupid.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/t...
May 21, 2025 at 9:24 PM
You gotta hand it to them: it is honestly astonishing to be this naïve and stupid.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/t...
