Tweeting Music Critic

"Do you think you were put on God's green earth to listen to music?" 

...is something my dearly departed grandmother said to my dad when he was kid, frustrated that he was glued to his phonograph rather than doing yard work or some such household chore. I've always loved that quote as I can imagine my teenage father taking in every glorious note of a favorite record, just like I've been doing since I was a similar age. And yes, often to the point of neglecting other tasks. It's in my blood I suppose; the excitement I get from listening to and/or discovering good music is an indescribable high. And to quote master music critic Tom Moon, "The more you love music, the more music you love." 

This desire to share the music that I think deserves to be shared is nothing new for me. During college at PLU, I created this very blog as way to publish my thoughts about music, often through album reviews. Around the same time, I spent a year as a music critic for Seattle-based music website SSG Music, while simultaneously hosting a weekly radio show on campus and writing a music column for the school newspaper. To top it all off, my final university capstone was a paper and presentation on two contrasting rock critics: Greil Marcus and Lester Bangs. 

Three and a half years removed from college, I'm as obsessed with music as ever (good thing I'm a music teacher now) but I'm still searching for the perfect web avenue to share the music I've been listening to. I've done my "Song of the Week" on Facebook from time to time, but I'm not sure if that's the right place as people don't usually go on Facebook with the intention of discovering new music. And anyone can randomly post a link from YouTube on their Facebook page. I'm looking to be more thoughtful and careful with my sharing. This website has been my place for best-of-the-year lists and such, but it's more about longer pieces than short daily or semi-daily posts that keep up with the faster pace of today's Internet. Can you see where this is going?

Inspired by a recent conference where the presenter coined the corny but clever phrase "meaty tweets", I've decided to take my musical recommendations to Twitter. Facebook is mostly for keeping up with friends, near and far, but Twitter seems best for succinctly sharing the music that I think needs to be heard. I think I have an unusual obsession with searching high and low for good music, so my goal here is to turn all that time and energy into something others can gain from. 

So if you're reading this and you're interested in getting tips from this young, but not inexperienced music critic, follow @bentully31! Also, stay tuned for another announcement regarding changes in my Internet presence.