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Rob Rankin

@robrankin.bsky.social
171 followers 136 following 496 posts

composer | composition & music theory prof @ UVU | husband (@maxecoleman.bsky.social) | chicago cubs fan | occasional writer of words (robrankin.substack.com) robertrankinmusic.com

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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not ideal. Seems bad.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Obviously because of recommendation algorithms and the fractured media environment that results from it, it is entirely possible to have never been in contact with a hit pop song. This is the modern media environment and it is pretty surprising a writer from ROLLING STONE doesn't get it.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Good Program Alert 🚨 (I’m still at a loss about the Strauss…)
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Library of America @libraryofamerica.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.”—William Faulkner, born Sept. 25, 1897. Explore the life and work of the Nobel laureate: loa.org/writers/301
loa.org
William Faulkner - Library of America
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Sam Dykstra @samdykstramilb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
40/40 for PCA
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I'm actually in love with this man
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The thing about these A.I. guys is that even the *best* case scenario and the Utopian vision they describe is horrible fundamentally anti-human. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Jensen Huang vs. the A.I. Doomers
Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, does not want you to be afraid of A.I.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I honestly believe this man has never been emotionally moved by anything. If you can't find the emotional weight in a moment like this, you can't find it in anything.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
theatlantic.com
What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind
Bobby McIlvaine was 26 when he died in the attacks. Two decades later, his loved ones are still grappling with the loss.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
from E.B. White's 'Here Is New York' (1949) #neverforget langurbansociology.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 11/09/2026
25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers. As we remember that terrible day, let us also remember the first responders, office workers and strangers who ran toward danger to help each other.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
He’s doing it again, folks… now with a Phantom of the Opera encore
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My official statement on A.I. in the classroom: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHas...
youtube.com
Groucho Marx - I'm Against It
YouTube video by mreffen1
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Good light
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I don’t have a dog in this particular fight, but can we agree that this whole “cringe” thing needs to go? I feel like we are stunting an entire generation (and society) from being genuine and expressive and vulnerable, all because it might be considered “cringey” in the future.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
What I assume is A.I. generated program notes on JW Pepper for my piece 'Pickett's Charge.' Say what you want, but two marching snare drums on either side of the ensemble is, indeed, a bit "over the top."
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/09/2026
I would like ask JD Vance about Pierre Damas Bel.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
A writer of a rare kind today—one who stood firmly by his core convictions and articulated them with brilliance and grace. Rest In Peace (…he would have hated being eulogized on social media) www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
nytimes.com
Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America’s Agrarian Past, Dies at 92
A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim.
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Max Coleman @maxecoleman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My student Aadi Mishra and I have a new paper out looking at the mental health effects of mass shootings in the United States. Using the Household Pulse Survey and a database of public mass shootings from Northwestern University, we show widespread increases in anxiety & depression.
frontiersin.org
Frontiers | Silent echoes: understanding and predicting the widespread mental health impact of mass shootings
Half of the 20 deadliest US. mass shootings have occurred in the past decade. We propose and find that the mental health consequences of such shootings are n...
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Successful first week of lessons! Assigned students to study, among other things: Kurtag's Double Concerto, John Adams' Harmonium, Felipe Lara's Double Concerto, and Joni Mitchell's Hejira.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
24 Hour Marathon of Lester Young over on WKCR to celebrate Prez's birthday: www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
As composition lessons kick off this term, I’m resharing my essay on score study from a composer’s perspective. I find students often feel overwhelmed by where to begin, so I put together some practical tips and reflections to help give them a place to start. robrankin.substack.com/p/score-stud...
robrankin.substack.com
SCORE STUDYING
How and Why?
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
For all this administration has done, the idea to snatch away the merger funds which essentially kept hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of the poorest of the poor alive, is without a doubt the most nakedly evil.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is a man after my heart!
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Thrilled, elated, pumped, stoked to begin year four (4!!) at UVU today! Happy first day of school to all who observe!
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Meghan Montemurro @mmontemurro.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Incredible. Pete Crow-Armstrong slugs a walk-off 2-run HR to give the Cubs a 7-5 win against the White Sox. That's his 30th home run of the season and makes him just the 2nd Cub in franchise history with back-to-back 30/30 seasons.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 10/08/2026
If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery, then it's an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon. Big companies like Amazon have built a vast network of subcontractors who deliver their packages while shielding them from accountability.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Rothko and Tiffany and Still at MOMA
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
My faith in humanity is restored. Our Delta flight from SLC to EWK (2 hours delayed) was diverted to Detroit at the last minute (popped a U-turn over Erie) and has now made it to NJ. Seemingly everyone on the flight was in good spirits and gave the crew a WELL DESERVED applause upon arrival.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
To the Louvre with this one!
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
This is how it’s done And I think this race will let the Dem establishment show they can back a progressive with the same vigor that, say, Bernie backed Biden in 2020. There are two wings in this party, nothing will change that, they need to cooperate
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The Cubs win their second game against the defending world champs! And against Skubal in his first outting as a Dodger! Fly The W! Play. The. Song!
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Every civilization now solely in ruins thought they too would survive forever...
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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I Have One Eye and It's In the Center of My Head. Here's What Christopher Nolan Gets Wrong About People Like Me.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This Cubs offense is just astonishing--and smart: play small ball and bring those runs in. All we need now are pitchers...
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Truly ‘The Free Press Presents: 60 Minutes’ www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/b...
nytimes.com
Ross Douthat Joins ‘60 Minutes’ as a Correspondent
Mr. Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, will join the CBS News program, along with several other journalists.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I respect Friedman, but this piece is a mess. He stumbles right into one of Netanyahu's favorite traps: treating "Bibi" and "Israelis" as synonymous. Mamdani was addressing campaign-trail claims and his issue, like the ICC's, is with Netanyahu, not the Israeli people. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Mamdani’s Netanyahu Stunt Was a Waste of His Talent and Our Time
What if Mamdani actually wanted to be a bridge builder between Israelis and Palestinians, a role for which he has the unique capacity and talent?
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I had to get it…
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Three things: 1) This makes education into the pure acquisition of tangible corporate skills. 2) This makes education into a *literal* transaction 3) This reduces all teachers to nothing more than search engines. Any compassion or empathy gets in the way of learning. www.ft.com/content/0070...
ft.com
Elite AI-powered schools insist they provide route to excellence
Long-term effects of incorporating the technology into learning are still unknown, but inequalities are emerging
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Obviously this is petty and small, but it’s also plainly fascistic and should be treated as such
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Ian Bremmer always came across as someone who liked foreign policy to debate club: no real tangible results, just intellectual musings.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Because of Boston’s 14 game winning streak, I consulted John Thorn’s mammoth and trusty ‘Total Baseball’ to see who holds the current record. It’s the 1916 New York Giants with 26 consecutive wins, but it’s a wild story (1/3)
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
All I’ve seen is nothing but praise for this score, and I thought I was going insane!
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Duke always with the uncanny ability to make everything secretive and terrifying.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I also love the notion that the hoi polloi can't grasp the term "oligarchy" but have deep-seated views on gender theory.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Happy Monday
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Listening to the Barber Violin Concerto this afternoon and I’m always in awe with how well proportioned this piece is! Barber’s sense of pacing in this thing is top shelf!
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Brendan Dzwierzynski @brendandzw.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I’ve said before but I truly hope that whenever Pat hangs it up, he knows how much he means to the Cubs fanbase and to team history. Because the answer is “A LOT.” His voice is the soundtrack to 2016, his call at the end of the ‘15 NLDS is as good as any baseball radio PxP guy has ever been, etc.
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Rob Rankin @robrankin.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I seriously believe that one of the goals of the MAGA movement is to make everything in life a liberal/conservative binary. They will see something (Odyssey, Bad Bunny halftime show) that has the potential to “bring the country together” and they will immediately attack it.
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