An American singer, guitarist, writer and record producer, best known as co-founder of avant-garde rock group Sonic Youth, Ranaldo has also been extremely active in the New York music scene for the past 20 years, recording and collaborating with numerous acts, producing discs, and publishing several books of poetry and journal entries.

Ranaldo was born in 1956 in East Norwich, NY and attended SUNY Binghamton in Binghamton, NY, where he played in an experimental punk outfit called the Fluks (named after the dadaist art movement, Fluxus). His early influences include many psychedelic California bands from the late 1960s, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, as well as early New York City punk units like the Ramones, Television and Talking Heads.

After moving to New York in 1979, Ranaldo briefly attempted to revive the Fluks before playing in a series of acts including Rhys Chatham and Plus Instruments (with whom he recorded an album in 1982). Through Chatham, Ranaldo met the composer Glenn Branca, who created avant-garde pieces for electric guitar ensembles. Through the New York downtown scene of the early 1980s, Ranaldo met future Sonic Youth bandmates Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon.