Lee Ranaldo

Infobox musical artist
Name = Lee Ranaldo

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Img_capt = Lee Ranaldo performing at The Hague in 2006.
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Lee M. Ranaldo
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1956|2|3
Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA
Died =
Instrument = Vocals, Guitar
Voice_type =
Genre = Alternative rock, Noise rock, No Wave
Occupation = Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Years_active = 1980 - present
Label = Neutral, Ecstatic Peace!, Homestead, SST, Enigma, DGC, SYR, Interscope
Associated_acts = Sonic Youth, The Cribs
URL =
Notable_instruments = Fender Jazzmaster
Fender Telecaster Deluxe
Gibson Les Paul

Lee M. Ranaldo (born February 3 1956) is an American singer, guitarist, writer and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth, the 33rd and 34th "Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Biography

Ranaldo was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, and graduated from Binghamton University. He has three sons, Cody Linn Ranaldo, Sage Ranaldo and Frey Ranaldo and is married to the experimental artist Leah Singer, with whom he has performed many live installation pieces with improvised music under the name Drifting.

Among Ranaldo's solo records are "Dirty Windows", a collection of spoken texts with music, "Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson), pieces for the guitar, and "Scriptures of the Golden Eternity". His books include several with art or photography by Leah Singer, including "Drift", "Bookstore", "Road Movies", and "Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt" from a full-length book of writings on Moroccan travels and music. Ranaldo has also published "Jrnls80s" (published by Soft Skull Press), as well as a book of poems, "Lengths & Breaths", with photography by Cynthia Connolly. His most recent book of poetry, "Hello From the American Desert", was published by The Silver Wonder Press in November 2007 with artwork by Curt Kirkwood. Recent visual work has been included in exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery in London, the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art and Mercer Union in Toronto.

Ranaldo has produced albums for artists including Babes in Toyland, You Am I, Magik Markers, Deity Guns, and Dutch art rock-ensemble Kleg. He has edited a volume of tour journals from the 1995 Lollapalooza Tour written by Thurston Moore, Beck, Stephen Malkmus, Courtney Love, and others. Ranaldo has also worked with jazz drummer William Hooker on improvised music, and reading and improvising poetry.

In 2007 Ranaldo collaborated with British rock band The Cribs on their third album "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever". The track "Be Safe" is a Ranaldo spoken word piece performed by the artist, and backed with The Cribs music.

Lee makes an appearance in the 2008 feature documentary by Nik Sheehan about Brion Gysin and the Dreamachine entitled [http://www.flickerflicker.com 'FLicKeR'] .

Equipment

Ranaldo usually uses Fender Jazzmaster, Telecaster Deluxe electric guitars and sometimes Gibson Les Paul's, with radically alternate tunings, and modifications. One of his guitars (built by a fan in 1990 when he described the design) has a single coil pickup installed between the bridge and the tailpiece to exploit the resonating chiming sounds on that area of string.

In 2007 Yuri Landman built for Ranaldo the Moonlander, a biheaded electric guitar with 18 strings: 6 normal strings and 12 sympathetic strings [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46003-meet-yuri-landman-maker-of-awesome-guitars-for-sonic-youth-liars-blonde-redhead-lightning-bolt] Pitchfork interview with Yuri Landman] .

Printed works

*"Bookstore and Others" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Hozomeen Press (April 1995), ISBN 978-1885175069

*"Drift" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Gigantic ArtSpace (2005), ISBN 978-1933045344

*"Ground Zero: New Yorkers Respond" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, David Amram, Frank Messina, Wasteland Press (August 15, 2002), ISBN 978-0971581173

*" [http://www.silverwonderpress.com/#silver01 Hello from the American Desert] " (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Curt Kirkwood, Silver Wonder Press (November 2007)

*"JRNLS80s" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Soft Skull Press (1998), ISBN 978-1887128315

*"Lengths & Breaths" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Cynthia Connolly, Water Row Press (August 2004), ISBN 978-0934953795

*"Moroccan Journal" (Hardcover) - Lee Ranaldo, Fringecore (1999), ISBN 978-9076207520

*"Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt" (Unknown Binding) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Ring Tarigh for the Literary Renaissance (1997), ASIN: B0006RJF80

*"Online Diaries : the Lollapalooza '95 tour journals" (Paperback) - Beck, Courtney Love, Stephen Malkmus, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Mike Watt, David Yow, Soft Skull Press (1996), ISBN 978-1887128209

*"Road Movies" (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Soft Skull Press (Nov 30, 2004), ISBN 978-1932360738

Discography - solo recordings

*"Countless Centuries Fled Into The Distance Like So Many Storms" (2008)
*"Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson)" (2000)
*"Clouds" (1997)
*"East Jesus" (1995)
*"Scriptures of the Golden Eternity" (1995)
*"Broken Circle / Spiral Hill EP" (1994)
*"A Perfect Day EP" (1992)
*"From Here To Infinity" (1987)

References

Persondata
NAME=Ranaldo, Lee
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ranaldo, Lee M.
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Experimental musician
DATE OF BIRTH=February 3, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH=Glen Cove, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=