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Five Indie Musicians to Follow on Twitter, and Five We Wish Tweeted

by Caleb Johnson on December 15, 2009 at 12:48 PM

Like the albums they're producing, there's a burgeoning group of independent musicians whose tweets put the musings of major-label artists to shame. While they might not have as many followers as, say, Bono or Justin Timberlake, you still won't find better material on the microblogging site than the musings of indie musicians.

While this crop of alt-music power players do a fine job, there are still a few more we'd like to learn about -- 140 characters at time. So, here's a few we've dubbed worthy of checking out, and also a few more that we hope to see join the site in the future. Let us know who we have missed in the comments below.

Follow These:

Colin Meloy – of The Decemberists
Meloy writes sea shanties and songs based on Japanese fables, so it's no surprise his tweets are just as eccentric. Check out his thoughts on the Old Testament, or laugh as Meloy searches for a pair of suspenders in London.

John Roderick – of The Long Winters
Many of Roderick's tweets are personal, which, in our opinion are the best kind. He complains about his cousin's "dissing" of his piano. He pokes fun when he gets lost on his way to an event, and tweets pictures of his buddies. Following Roderick is like 'Being John Malkovich,' but much, much more interesting.

Jason Isbell
Formerly a guitar player for Drive By Truckers, Isbell has long been considered a great young songwriter. Like his best songs, Isbell's tweets are hilarious (see his advice on accidental pooping) and poignant (see his take on contemporary music).

Melissa Auf der Maur
Auf der Maur is the daughter of a journalist and used to play music with Courtney Love. In other words, she knows a thing or two about communicating, and she has plenty of interesting material. Don't expect digs at CoLo, but this Canadian songstress posts plenty of links to her own music and gives insight into her latest projects.

Amanda Palmer – of The Dresden Dolls
When we found out Palmer has an affinity for geeks, we immediately started following her. Besides discussing her great taste in guys, Palmer tweets plenty of pics of herself and reveals her rigid practice schedule.


Wish Tweeted:

Jeff Tweedy – of Wilco
With a surge in popularity, it's sort of hard to classify Wilco as an "indie" band. But to us, they'll always be one of the little guys (even if they're playing amphitheaters). Tweedy has punched a fan onstage. So who wouldn't want to see what he'd unleash on Twitter? Just wear a helmet, some tweets might hurt.

Neko Case
If only Twitter featured audio... We love Case's voice so much that we'd read her tweets just to imagine what they'd sound like. With a critically-acclaimed album released this year followed by tons of shows, Case should have plenty to tweet.

Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel, the indie darling of the moment, not only lights up the big screen, but she makes music with her songwriter boyfriend M. Ward. We are sure her tweets would be so sweet that we'd want to puke, but that wouldn't stop us from reading them religiously.

Daniel Johnston
Considered brilliant by many, a quick look at the artists who have covered Johnston's songs (Tom Waits, Beck, and so on) certainly backs up that statement. But we'd like to see Johnston deliver his own tweets. For an artist that's notoriously shy, this might be the best way for fans to catch a glimpse of his writing talent.

Wayne Coyne – of The Flaming Lips
If you've ever seen The Flaming Lips live, you'll know why we chose Coyne. His shows are pure spectacle, often resembling an acid-fueled circus. We could only hope that attitude would translate to Twitter.

Tags: amanda palmer, AmandaPalmer, colin meloy, ColinMeloy, daniel johnston, DanielJohnston, features, indie rock, IndieRock, jason isbell, JasonIsbell, jeff tweedy, JeffTweedy, john roderick, JohnRoderick, melissa auf der maur, MelissaAufDerMaur, music, neko case, NekoCase, rock, switchedfollows, top, wayne coyne, WayneCoyne, ZooeyDeschanel

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