Duran Duran’s John Taylor, when he was still relevant
Of course I have to quote today’s twitter musician blasphemy, care of 80’s band Duran Duran’s John Taylor.
Special props to the awesome Hypebot blog for catching!:
“When artists today are asked to Twitter their every thought, their every action, to record on video their every breath, their every performance, I believe they’re diluting their creative powers, their creative potency and the durability of their work.
And in the long run I believe they’re also diluting the magical power and the magnetic attraction that they can or will ever have over their audience.”
This backward-thinking remark caused a mini-furor today on Twitter.
I love how folks who know NOTHING about twitter love to harp that all we’re doing is talking about what we’re eating. Twitter is a great way for musicians to communicate and share their music with music lovers, and this is simply one of the ways music is marketed today. In the Hypebot blog, a man commented that John Taylor also refused to take pictures with his fans back in the day. If he wasn’t social then, then it’s no surprise that he’s not social now.
One twitter friend raised the point that truly creative people could never be diluted by social media. Another tweep mentioned how Twitter teaches songwriters how to use less words to say more.
In my opinion, if Taylor’s idols Roxy Music were a current band that didn’t twitter, they might only be a local band. Times are different now, and no one can predict the success of a 70’s band with today’s standards.
Who can really say, you know?
If you check out John Taylor’s BBC article, I’d love for you comment here.
