Twitter has just decided to collectively declare a #indieamnesty today and it’s led to some brilliant stories about people’s most embarrassing indie moments that would only make sense to someone who dabbled in indie in the early 2000s.
The hashtag was started by Rowan Martin of London band Rhythm Method who asked everyone what their indie amnesty is, revealing that he once wrote a “twee lyric along the lines of ‘now you’re crying in your Ready Brek’.” Ready Brek is a British oats-based cereal.
Once wrote an excruciatingly twee lyric along the lines of 'now you're crying in your Ready Brek'. What's your #indieamnesty?
— Rowan Martin (@Rowan_A_Martin) April 6, 2016
Now musicians and general Twitter users from all over the place are making hilarious admissions about the indiest thing they did when they owned a MySpace and thought ’00s British indie-rock was the peak of music’s history.
Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos admitted that he has “been the face of the Wikipedia Duffle Coat entry for around a decade”. And he has.
I have been the face of the Wikipedia Duffle Coat entry for around a decade #indieamnesty
— Alex Kapranos (@alkapranos) April 6, 2016
Another guy got a photo with a then long-haird Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys and didn’t correct family or friends when they asked him about his “new girlfriend”.
https://twitter.com/blakejp/status/717761659830448129
There’s also a plethora of great MySpace related #indieamnesty stories. One guy changed his name to “Rupert! At The Disco” while another deleted everything on their MySpace apart from the Maximo Park lyric “I’m going missing for a while” after he was dumped by his internet girlfriend.
https://twitter.com/rupertesdaile/status/717728213330444288
https://twitter.com/JackShankly/status/717708138342952960
Out of all the bands mentioned it seems The Libertines, in particular Pete Doherty, and The Kooks are getting the most mentions. Guardian journalist Josh Hall admitted he had to stop The Kooks’ frontman Luke Pritchard from pushing a TV out the window of a Travelodge while another Tweeter got into a club in 2007 simply because he looked like Pritchard.
https://twitter.com/JoshAJHall/status/717692752889323520
https://twitter.com/gregjames/status/717714454151106560
https://twitter.com/HadleyFreeman/status/717733703586353152
https://twitter.com/TalontedLex/status/717705824156721152
What a time to be alive and on Twitter. Something as communal and honest as #indieamnesty couldn’t have ever happened on MySpace no matter how much our nostalgia distorts its possibilities.
PS. If you don’t remember the below song, #indieamnesty may just be an endless sea of confusion for you.
Watch: The View – Same Jeans
https://twitter.com/thatdarylsmith/status/717830247132110851
Got dumped by text message on the way to a Franz Ferdinand/Editors/The Rakes gig in Birmingham in 2005 #indieamnesty
— Samuel Koisser (@SamuelKoisser) April 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/kScodders/status/717774536788340736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Was secretly chuffed when I realised I'd caught chlamydia via The Teenagers. #indieamnesty
— Fred Macpherson (@fredmacpherson) April 6, 2016
In 2006 we supported the Noisettes. They told us to help ourselves to something from the rider if we wanted….
— Jack Bevan (@jackbevan) April 7, 2016
… We thought they'd left and bagged up the entire thing, down to the last carrot stick and half empty beer. #indieamnesty
— Jack Bevan (@jackbevan) April 7, 2016
When I met Damon Albarn I kept calling him Damian. #indieamnesty
— John Prescott (@johnprescott) April 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/hellokarenflynn/status/717870823009304576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw