Boston's Best Music Connoisseurs To Follow On Twitter

Music fans are a curious lot, always seeking out the pulse and heartbeat of their favorite bands with an ardent fervor, oftentimes to the point of obsession. All music fans have their go-to aficionados, as well; those in-the-know journalists who always have the latest scoop and know the hottest artists and upcoming trends. Here are some of the Boston area's best music critics and insiders on Twitter – those with the best insight, most unique personalities and sharpest knowledge of the bunch!

Bob Leader is a fixture of the Boston live music scene, sometimes even attending multiple concerts on a single night, just to get his daily fix of music. Leader is more than just a Boston music superfan, however, having lent his pen and ink to such sites as Gizmodo and Wired.com, while at the same time booking his own shows within the city limits, not the least of which has been the annual 'Bobfest' Festival. All of Leader's shows gather the cream of Boston's hungry crop of musicians, while the man's energy and enthusiasm for music of all genres proves to be absolutely infectious for everyone within a hundred mile distance.

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They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and this statement seems to ring particularly true when it comes to the life and career of Western Massachusetts native Jeremy Saffer. As one of the area's premier photojournalists, Saffer has documented concerts from the small (VFW Halls and local punk rock gigs) to the tall (50 Cent, Alice Cooper), all with a keen eye and a sharp lens. Saffer's insight is one born from a true love of music; one that keeps a fanatical fire burning within the heart of this photographer  while lending the skill and dedication needed to document a wide variety of music from the emo, indie, rock and metal scenes. 

Although this globe-trotting entertainment journalist – who specializes in everything from music and film to Japanese animation and internet dating – currently resides in New York City, Mr. Reesman's salad days as a teen and young adult were spent here in Boston area high schools; a time when Bryan's music and film obsessions were first birthed and cultivated. Reesman's writing style is at once both personal and professional, divulging a plethora of insider knowledge while retaining that all important feeling of fandom. Reesman's Attention Deficit Delirium blog and its companion Twitter feed are two of THE places to visit for music fans seeking the freshest of news and views.

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As another Boston area transplant, Mike Gitter grew up within the city's hardcore punk scene before making it to the big time as a famed and respected A&R man in New York and Los Angeles. Gitter has worked as an industry insider for more than eighteen years for such diverse record labels as Roadrunner, Century Media and Razor & Tie, establishing himself as one of the music scene's most honest and unwavering voices. There's no sugar coating here in Gitter's world: this is a man who tells it like it is, with a wide-ranging knowledge of classic rock, metal and punk artists which could shame even the proudest of music snobs. In an era of pretenders, Mike Gitter is the real deal.

The Twitter-verse is a strange place, indeed, with a myriad of sources all claiming the be the true 'insiders' within their respective fields. When it comes to the world of extreme metal journalism, however, the voice of Allston Rock City resident Kelly Scanlan stands out within her crowd of contemporaries. As a writer for MetalSucks.net, Scanlan embraces an intensely personal style of writing; one which is born from her palpable passion for the source material, yet emboldened with enough impartiality to make her writing memorable, with a strong critical voice. Kelly's opinions are as extreme as her musical tastes, expressed with a level of thought and clarity which marks her as a credible critical voice.