Author Archives: R.J.

SOS

By R.J. | Published: December 30, 2022

Band: SZA Album: SOSBest song: “Ghost in the Machine” is the best song of 2022. Worst song: “F2F” does not appeal to me A few weeks ago, Ben Gibbard projects Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service announced a joint upcoming tour in which both bands would play their 2003 seminal albums – Transatlanticism […]

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Call Down the Sun

By R.J. | Published: December 30, 2022

Band: Konvent Album: Call Down the SunBest song: “Harena,” “Fatamorgana” and “Grains” are amazing. Worst song: “Never Rest” is the weakest song on the album. What a year. The nature of the calendar is such that all these things are a little artificial; resolutions and such can be done at any time. As a Jewish […]

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Midnights

By R.J. | Published: December 29, 2022

Band: Taylor Swift Album: MidnightsBest song: The first three songs are all terrific. I like “Question…?” and “Bejeweled” a lot, too.Worst song: “Vigilante Shit” is extremely not my shit. I’ve written on this site twice about Taylor Swift, once in an overwhelmingly condescending tone and once avoiding her for most of the post. So, let […]

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Dawn FM

By R.J. | Published: December 28, 2022

Band: The Weeknd Album: Dawn FMBest song: “Out of Time” and “Gasoline” are excellent. Worst song: “Less Than Zero” is just OK. I kinda hate how much I like the Weeknd.

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Retreat From The Sun

By R.J. | Published: December 28, 2022

Band: that dog.Album: Retreat From the SunBest song: “Never Say Never” is great. “Long Island” rocks. Worst song: “Until the Day I Die” doesn’t really fit on the record, but maybe that’s the point? I don’t know. I guess Netflix is bringing back (some of) the cast from That 70s Show for a new series […]

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At Action Park

By R.J. | Published: December 27, 2022

Band: ShellacAlbum: At Action ParkBest song: “The Admiral” is one of my favorite Shellac songsWorst song: Nah. Of the people I’ve admired most in music, Steve Albini is definitely near the top. He is not without pretense, of course, but he has been a deeply thoughtful guy and has been part of some of the […]

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Yellow and Green

By R.J. | Published: December 27, 2022

Band: BaronessAlbum: Yellow & GreenBest song: “Cocainium” is the band at its bestWorst song: “Foolsong.” There is a famous bit in the Beatles’ Anthology TV series wherein Paul McCartney answers the claim that the White Album is a bloated double album that could’ve used some trimming. He dismisses the criticism with “It’s the bloody White […]

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Cool It Down

By R.J. | Published: December 14, 2022

Band: Yeah Yeah YeahsAlbum: Cool It DownBest song: “Wolf” and “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”Worst song: “Mars.” I do not have kids. I’ve gone over this fact in this space before (and if you know me personally, you’ve probably heard me joke about it and some of the hijinks around it that touch […]

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Mariner

By R.J. | Published: December 13, 2022

Band:Cult of Luna and Julie ChristmasAlbum:MarinerBest song: “Cygnus” is a perfect, epic song.Worst song:”Approaching Transition” is the weakest song, but it’s very good (sorry, I almost only write about records I like). What’s beyond the next mountain? What lies among the stars? Why go beyond the horizon? Is exploration an inherent part of humanity’s makeup? […]

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War Moans

By R.J. | Published: December 12, 2022

Band:Mutoid ManAlbum:War MoansBest song:“Melt You Mind” and “Wreck and Survive”Worst song:the song itself is good, but the lyrics to “Date with the Devil” are kinda dumb. Genre is a tough thing to tackle and it is a deeply ~inside~ experience as you get into it more. The dumb copout “I listen to all types of […]

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  • About Me

    I'm Ross Jordan Gianfortune. I am not a writer, but I sometimes write here about music and my life. I live in Washington, DC.

    I used to review each of Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 albums of all time. Now I'm writing about albums I own.

    My work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Gazette, The Atlantic, Sno-Cone and a bunch of defunct zines.

    You can contact me at rjgianfortune at gmail dot com.

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