Lots of musicians tweet — but all that Twitters is not gold.
That’s why you’ll want to check out SPIN.com every Friday to see whose tweets we’re reading this week — then update your TweetDeck! (Obligatory Self-Promotion: …while you’re at it, be sure to follow @SPINmagazine!)
This week’s winners:
-
- Reading Rainbow
- @RRphilly
-
Who: Reading Rainbow (@RRphilly)
Why You Should Follow: Reading Rainbow has all the right ingredients for indie success: They’ve got a cute back story (they’re a husband-and-wife duo; she taught herself how to play drums); they’re named after a popular children’s TV show from the ’80s and ’90s; and their dreamy, lo-fi, garage rock tunes are downright infectious. They’ve got a fun presence on Twitter, too. They share recipes for “natural/herbal speedballs” (“1 part chamomile to 3 parts Yerba mate plus 1 pinch of raw organic maca powder”), live-tweet their way through other bands’ concerts (“Takin bets on whether the hippie dancing at the vaselines show is following jeffrey Lewis on tour”), and ponder Twitter trends (“so i guess it’s not ironically funny to re-tweet 50 cent any more, huh?”). They also post the occasional questionable Twitpic and tweet back and forth with other bands like Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles. Look out for much more from this duo as they get ready to release their second full-length album, Prism Eyes — and check them out when they perform at CMJ!
Best Tweet of the Week: “WHY DOES CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE HAVE TO PLAY A REUNION PHILLY SHOW DURING CMJ!?! WHY?!!!”
-
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
- @dalejrjrmusic
-
Who: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (@dalejrjrmusic)
Why You Should Follow: This “musical project with high speed ambitions” (as they describe themselves on Twitter) made our list of the 30 best artists to check out at CMJ Fest with their synth-y, psych-pop sound and NASCAR-costumed performances. On Twitter, they pay homage to their namesake (“Happy, happy birthday to Dale Earnhardt Jr. A wonderful man with a wonderful drive to be a positive force for humanity”), wax poetic about the beauty of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” and live-tweet from the road (they’re currently touring with the trippy children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba! and share a dressing room with quirky pop band Leslie & the LY’s). Expect lots of tongue-in-cheek tweets (“We brought some oil paints and a canvas with us on tour. This is what we came up with so far” was the caption for this Twitpic) and stories of close encounters with “serial killer-looking guys” and mind-numbing boredom on the road (“We are officially writing Home Alone 4 starring a now drug addicted Kevin McAllister who hasn’t left the apartment since Thanksgiving”).
Best Tweet of the Week: “We just played 3 shows today. Actually very honored to have done so, but excited to sleep!!!”
-
- Lower Dens
- @lowerdens
-
Who: Lower Dens (@lowerdens)
Why You Should Follow: With tweets that range from the absurd (“Caustic mom jams”) to the even more absurd (“Cats, dystopian future internet quests, bone marrow stew, jogging wtf, hours of pedals = time off”), this Baltimore-based post-punk band (fronted by freak-folk hero Jana Hunter) is worth following just for the intrigue. Look out for Twitpics of dark, creepy, graffiti-laden practice spaces and psychedelic Beatles paintings, links to fringe political efforts like Reconsider Columbus Day, and the occasional request for “stalwart” record recommendations. They’re playing 11 CMJ shows altogether, so make sure you catch at least one of them!
Best Tweet of the Week: They linked to their Tumblr to show off all of the cool CMJ fliers created for their shows.
