Remember a few years ago when every cultural commentator and his uncle was heralding a new age of direct communication between artist and fan via the wonder of MySpace? Well Twitter takes this trend to its ultimate conclusion, so now we know exactly when Nick Cave is “drinking my eleventh strawberry daiquiri and talking to Tracy Pew via Ouiji board” or when Calvin Harris is simply asking the world, “am I a cunt?”
Yes… and they’re not the only ones. The music world is gradually discovering the ultra-immediate, 140-character realm of inhuman contact that Twitter provides. Admittedly, many bands and singers have started accounts only to leave them vacant after a few posts (Lily Allen), some are guilty of spamming you silly with endless whimsy (MC Hammer), while others are clearly just façades for the stars’ marketeers/web monkeys (Britney Spears, Oasis).
But despite all this, I still find it fascinating (especially when it goes wrong) and I reckon we’re gonna see an upsurge of artists joining in the next year. So I’ve made this list of bands, singers and rappers already on Twitter as a reference for anyone else who’s interested. Please leave a comment if you’ve come across anyone I’ve missed. And of course, feel free to follow me @NickMitchell.
Boom Bip (from Neon Neon)
Notorious BIG (from beyond the grave, obv)
Kurt Cobain (ditto)
Trent Reznor (NIN)
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Michael Jackson (OK, maybe not)
Questlove (The Roots)
P.S. It’s not very rock’n’roll though is it? I can’t imagine Keith Moon tapping away at his laptop: “drove Rolls into hotel pool, woopsy!”
random words 