AMANDA FUCKING PALMER. Or for those who aren’t already familiar with her, Amanda Palmer. Aside from being a virtuosic keyboard/vocalist spawned from the early 2000s cabaret act The Dresden Dolls, she’s an expert at stirring up buzz and causing problems. Take for example the huge controversy over her break with record label Roadrunner. The whole thing started when she claimed they removed clips of her stomach from her video”Leeds United” because “they thought I looked fat”. Fans instantly rallied to her side, and started sending photos of their own stomachs to Roadrunner. They then started a website and eventually released a book. To top things off, Palmer wrote and released “Please Drop Me” to the tune of “Moon River”, a song where she begged her label to drop her. Or take, her unprecedented effort to fundraise enough money to record and release her latest album Theatre is Evil. Palmer initially hoped for $100,000, but received over $1.2 million, being the first to raise more than $1 million on KickStart. If you’re still not convinced, take Palmer’s Twitter account #LOFNOTC (Losers On Friday Night On Their Computers).

It all points to the fact that Palmer is simply unique. Fans everywhere flock to her side because of this. They comfort her during the low times, and celebrate with her during the high times (like her sold-out tours in the U.S., Scotland, or Australia, or appearances in Coachella, and the Boston Pops). But they don’t just do it because of her music. Palmer has a way of connecting with her fans that make them actually feel like they have a relationship with her. She reveals all on her website, and twitter, and during her shows has a way of making fans a part of it, often including stunts where they can come up on stage.

Yet, Palmer’s music is as original as she is. It’s confrontational, often tongue-in-cheek folksy pop, thanks to a ukelele.  Her upcoming album is to be released later this September.

If you haven’t heard of Amanda Palmer, take a look below:

Article:
Crowdsourcing is the Future of Music

Blog:
New Video from Amanda Palmer: “I Want You Back”

- Ronan Daly