Mean web trolls signal the day the music died

Kanye West has joined forces with Paul McCartney, recording the song Only One, much to the delight of Kanye's fans, writes Kirsty Bosley.

But one such fan took to Twitter to post the following, uninformed statement: "This Paul McCartney guy gonna be huge!"

Within no time, the post had been shared and shared again on Twitter, posted on Facebook and Tumblr. The tweeter's post was shared on various websites, all of which sought to make this person look as daft as possible.

What kind of idiot doesn't know who Paul McCartney is? Guffaw.

I'm a really passionate music fan. I have a zillion albums in my collection, from Norwegian black metal and Floridian death metal to 70s jazz, 90s hip-hop and pop albums from 2014.

I'd like to think I know a fair bit about music, in part due to my eclectic obsession with searching for everything on Spotify and Wikipedia. But mostly it's because, growing up, I had a mum that introduced me to music.

I have friends that recommend things they think I'll love.

The first album I was ever given was Abba Gold (which is still a banger, might I add) and the first album I bought with my own money was Bon Jovi. My mother listened to Phil Collins and Barbra Streisand all the time.

I was exposed to the sounds of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music in the kitchen on a Sunday, and when I was a teenager, my auntie took me to my first proper gig (Anthrax at the Wolverhampton Wulfrun!)

I've known of the Beatles from an early age, but that's not because I was born with an encyclopaedic knowledge of music. It's because someone showed it to me, and let me listen to their CDs.

This person, who tweeted about Paul McCartney on a whim, before thinking of googling his name, clearly didn't have the same. I feel sad at the idea that everyone's mocking him for it.

It's snobbery at its worst, I feel. But it doesn't stop there.

I saw another post on Facebook, that mocked the lyrics of Beyoncé song Run The World (a total jam, in my opinion) and compared it, in a ridiculing fashion, to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

One repeats the same words over and over again. The other uses lots of words that you could never really pronounce properly when you sang it as a kid.

Thinking of it now, what does Bohemian Rhapsody, for all of its amazing guitar licks and epic vocals, actually mean? It's a phenomenal song, but it's no 'better' than Beyoncé. It's just different.

Like art, it's a matter of opinion. If it brings people happiness and makes them dance, who cares?

Why do we need to know the name of every member of our favourite band? Does it matter?

It is with that then, that I suggest something. Next time a friend asks you what you're listening to, don't exclaim: "WHAT?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THIS IS?!" as though they've just been born.

Instead, lend them a copy of the album. Music is a wonderful thing which connects people in a way that language cannot.

So make people mixtapes, spread the joy.