There have been a gazillion things written about Daft Punk and Random Access Memories over the last week or so, but one of the best of them appeared this morning on the Tumblr of Montreal-based musician James Brooks, aka (formerly) as Elite Gymnastics. Brooks’ take on the record is well worth reading, and if you’re not already following him on Tumblr, you really should be. And he’s not the only musician who’s using his blog in a compelling way; here’s a selection of other music makers you should be following on Tumblr. Get to it!
Formerly known as Elite Gymnastics and now just plain old James Brooks, he’s one of the most consistently interesting cultural commentators on the internet, musician or otherwise. Fingers crossed that Michael Azerrad recruits him for The Talkhouse sooner rather than later.
It’s hard to mention Elite Gymnastics without mentioning Grimes, and not just because they make up music’s most adorably life-affirming couple since Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore went their separate ways. They also both have great Tumblrs — Grimes has had something of a fraught relationship with the site over the last couple of years, but hopefully she’s back for good, because she’s a fine writer with lots to say (and also a lot of interesting stuff to reblog).
Meanwhile, it’s no surprise that The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle has embraced Tumblr of late — he’s long been one of the more erudite and thoughtful figures in music, and his Twitter is hilarious. It’s particularly nice to see him interacting with fans via the site’s built-in “Ask Me a Question” feature.
Who’d have thought it? Sixx has reinvented himself as a photographer; as the tagline to his Tumblr says, “I’m a recovering addict. Cameras are my new drug.” The thing is, though, that he’s really pretty damn good at it. His stark black-and-white portraits concentrate on the underbelly of LA — homeless people, addicts, down-and-outs — and are often accompanied by a short blog post relating the story behind the image.
Blanco can be a bit overwhelming on Twitter — endless tweets about how her career is blowing up and how she’s sticking it to the haters, etc. — but her Tumblr is a rather more relaxed destination. It’s billed as “Mykki’s Diary,” and focuses largely on photos that capture her singular aesthetic.
If you’re a devotee of Andrew WK’s new age party philosophy, this is the place for you to find spiritual enlightenment in the form of posts like this and this. And even if you’re not, well, it’s good for a giggle.
There’s an argument to be made that Stipe doesn’t really qualify as a musician anymore — he’s pretty much a full-time visual artist these days, and that’s the area to which his Tumblr is devoted. He posts a mixture of his own work and that of others, meaning that following him is a consistently illuminating experience for anyone interested in art (especially photography and sculpture).
He doesn’t post as much as he used to — perhaps because he’s world-famous and all these days — but still, Ocean’s blog provides a fascinating insight into his art and his world view. Also, this is perhaps the first time that anyone named as one of Time‘s most influential people has taken to Tumblr to share the news with his followers.
Jana Hunter doesn’t write often — although when she does, it’s worth reading — but nevertheless, this blog is a pretty fascinating source of visual art and photography.
Otherwise known as “Pete Wentz’s LiveJournal.” Hours of fun for all the family!