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 will all be at the SXSW fest in Austin, TX, March 16-20:
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- Wild Flag
- @wildflagmusic
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Why You Should Follow: This ’90s grrl rock supergroup — featuring Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, Helium’s Mary Timony, and the Minders’ Rebecca Cole — started writing songs together in September and played their first, slightly awkward show in Olympia, Washington, in November. Now, they’re headed to SXSW, and if the past few months have been any indication, you can expect lots of behind-the-scenes tweets and Twitpics. They’ve been documenting their journey as a band, from their first photo shoot on the banks of the Willamette River to the recording of their “7” — plus all of the birthday parties, “band dog walks,” soundchecks, and shows in between. Whether they’re writing about playing on a “stage the size of a postage stamp” or posting pictures of themselves loading up their tour van, their tweets show that forming a supergroup with a bunch of seasoned musicians is very much the same as forming a brand-new band with a bunch of nobodies: full of nervousness, excitement, and monumental “firsts.” These women aren’t the slightest bit jaded, and for that, we give them a big thumbs-up.
Best Tweet of the Week: “We’re here to heat up this cold New England city.”
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- Dum Dum Girls’ Bambi Davies
- @bambidumdum
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Why You Should Follow: Dum Dum Girls bassist and indie rock pin-up girl Bambi Davies recently tweeted, “I get to do the coolest shit with the loveliest people,” which seems like a good way of summing it up, doesn’t it? Her band just released a new EP, He Gets Me High, and launched a U.S. tour, which will take them to Austin for a performance at SXSW. Every day is a party, full of “magical mushrooms,” Alaskan White Ale, “special brownies,” and matching tattoos. Look out for party tales (“Girl sitting in puke trying to pull on shorts slams door in my face and screams YES! when asked if she is okay. Uh. No you aren’t puke-butt”) and lots of awesome Twitpics and stories (“Ummm. At a bar with Beyonce and Jay Z. Can’t decide if I should compliment Big Pimpin or Why Don’t You Love Me”) that will make you wish you were a Dum Dum Girl. So will her tweets about accidentally quitting smoking and wanting to “chomp [her] teeth out” after taking a hit of cocaine and looking for a second gig: “I’m really funny. Give me a freelance writing job. I can write smut for your blog/magazine/coming out letter to your parents/etc.”
Best Tweet of the Week: This artsy Twitpic of Dum Dum Girls singer Dee Dee getting ready to receive her “tour tattoo.”
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- Braids
- @braidsmusic
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Why You Should Follow: “BRAIDS is a band that lost to a Red Hot Chili’s cover band in high school,” reads this Canadian quartet’s Twitter bio. They’re also an experimental dream-pop group that won critical praise when their debut album, Native Speaker, was released in January, and they’ll be playing nine — yup, nine — shows at SXSW. Other fun facts about Braids: while on tour, they sometimes hang out in pay-by-the-hour hot tubs, and they may or may not have killed someone (“This corpse is stinking up my room. #deadpeople”). They don’t tweet very often, but when they do, it’s worth it, if only for the valuable life advice (“when a car hits you, go to the hospital. even if you’re playing a show that day”) and occasional Twitpic.
Best Tweet of the Week: “The dream of the 90s is alive.”
