Get to know your blogger – tmwsiy*

tmwsiy* is run by a very nice guy named Peter. He was kind enough to answer my questions for my “get to know your blogger” feature. We both bought the Cocktail soundtrack (which is still available!) at one point in our lives and both have spent time in Wisconsin. I’m thrilled to be offering an interview to you with him today, so check out his site and our interview. Thanks Peter!

Let’s get some general background on you. Where do you live, how long, etc.

Home is truly where you hang your hat or in this day and age, where you connect to the internet. At this point, my wi-fi is provided free of charge by the good people of Boston. I moved back here almost a year ago after teaching English abroad for a while. I’ve spent time living in Sydney, Barcelona and Milan and that has definitely affected the development of my taste in music. Moving around cities there are always local flavors of music that affect what you hear when you go out at night and that has been a huge influence on my taste. Time moves too fast.

I want get an idea of your musical taste evolution if you will. What were some of the first albums/tapes/CD’s you bought?

Wow. The first cassettes ever purchased were Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit, Metallica – Metallica, and Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. The first cassettes I remember acquiring but not actually buying were the soundtracks to Cocktail and Good Morning Vietnam. I can’t really remember the first cd’s I bought but I remember silently cursing about having to have duplicates on tape and cd.

How about some of the more recent CD’s you’ve purchased?

Since I work at a record store as a second source of income I am buying stuff pretty much everyday. The last few cds I purchased were the Life Aquatic Studio Sessions by Seu Jorge, This Is Everybody! On Tour by Sander Kleinenberg and Lee Burridge and the DFA Records Holiday Mix 2005 but I bought that online direct from wonderful people at DFA. I also picked up the She Wants Revenge ep at their last week.

Where do you buy the majority of your records? Do you support a particular record store in your area, buy online, and if so, where?

I buy a lot of stuff online direct from the artist or at shows and obviously the record store that I work at but I’ll refrain from mentioning it by name for fear of the backlash that it could rain down upon me. I might lose whatever shred of credibility I have.

When I started listening to music, there were certain musicians that led me in the path of a lot of other bands. Did you have any similar experiences with bands growing up?

Growing up in Chicago and Wisconsin, I spent a lot time listening to the radio and even now, the airwaves there are predominantly classic rock oriented. There was always the oldies station so I guess I grew up listening to a lot of Buddy Holly, Elvis, the Beatles, Elton John, Pink Floyd and Queen. This I find slightly weird, as it was the late eighties. And it’s still weird when I go back there now and they are pumping out GnR like Lies came out last week. Stepping into yesterday.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

That is such an impossible question to ask but some of the most influential records in determining the way that I listen to music have been Band of Gypsies by Jimi Hendrix, Loaded by the Velvet Underground, Smoker’s Delight by Nightmares on Wax and The Bends by Radiohead.

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

All digital all the time. I started converting my compact disc collection into mp3s back in 2000. I would take in about 10 discs a day to work and rip them while I was at my desk. It took about three months but I eventually got everything converted. Since then those albums have been burned onto cd’s and ported from laptop to laptop. Now before I even listen to the album, it comes down onto the hardrive and then the celluloid gets given to friends or shipped out to my brother in Chicago. It’s a weird system but it works for me, as I don’t like any of the clutter that goes along with the jewel cases. Between two laptops and several mp3 discs there is a lot.

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If you could spend time with 3 musicians, who would you choose?

Brian Eno, Rick Rubin, and Eddie Vedder.

I’m sure you’ve seen some great concerts. Can you tell me what the first concert you saw was and when? To follow that up, are there any particular shows that stand out in terms of being favorites?

One of the first shows I ever went to go was Stone Temple Pilots. It was the first show I remember going to without any guidance. For that reason alone it was awesome. Any particular shows that stand out? Definitely.

There are a lot but one of the best would be Radiohead in advance of their OK Computer tour. They played this place called the Worcester Centrum, which is just like a little basketball stadium. The place was completely sold out and we had tickets on the floor. Radiohead was incredible and during the encore everyone in the stands starting pounding on the aluminum benches with their feet creating this completely surreal sound that reverberated throughout everything. One of those shows that defies explanation.

I would also have to include the entire week I spent in Benicassim at the Fiber Fib festival. A weeklong festival where the headlining acts start at around midnight and the music lasts until the sun rises the next morning. Why? So you can go to the beach all day. Perfect. An incredible musical experience as Kraftwerk, Franz Ferdinand, Lou Reed, Belle and Sebastian among a hundred others took part. And then on the fifth night a DJ set by 2 Many DJ’s followed by James Murphy of DFA spinning until the sun came up with the stage set on the beach and the entire event open to small little beachside town that hosted it. The best musical experience I have ever been a part of.

I would also have to add seeing the Pixies in Bologna last summer. We had backstage artist passes and got to watch from the stage during their show and PJ Harvey’s. She is incredible. There is something extra special about catching your favorite acts outside of their normal environs.

This year the best show that I have seen has been either The Go! Team or Galaxy 2 Galaxy. Both raucous crowds of people bouncing around everywhere. I should also include the incredible Jeff Tweedy solo show.

What are some bands that you haven’t gotten the chance to see live, but would really like to?

Arcarde Fire. The White Stripes. Jimi Hendrix.

Can you tell me what got you into blogging, and are you surprised by the popularity your blog has attained?

It just started as a way for me to share music with friends that I have met everywhere and put up some photographs that I have taken in random spots. I guess it hasn’t really changed too much although sometimes when I am writing about a band I catch myself writing like a rock critic and then I have to delete what I had written and start over. It’s weird. I can’t say that I am surprised about the popularity of my blog because the popularity of tmwsiy* isn’t that massive. It’s really just a small fish when compared to GvB, MOKB, and YANP. I try to keep things simple and put up music new and old that put me into weird states of mind.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Music or otherwise.

My list of favorite blogs has to include Music For Robots, LHB, So Much Silence, GvB, and MOKB. The rants and ramblings of Veritas Lux Mea every afternoon are not to be missed nor is the quietly understated Hello Gina with her fantastic Thursday’s Are For Covers featurette. And sadly some great blogs end, as last month the venerable Last Night An MP3 Saved My Wife stopped, such good writing and eclectic music. For celebrity gossip What Would Tyler Durden Do every morning and Pink every afternoon.

How important do you think music blogs are in general? Do you think they will continue to be as popular as they are today?

I don’t really think that music blogs are that important individually but as a collective whole they may speak for something. It is really a way for people to share their musical tastes with a population greater than their immediate circle of friends. As soon as I had a tape recorder I was taping songs from the radio and making mixes for friends and I see blogs as an extension of that. I am not sure about their commercial viability or their ability to directly affect artists as I think it’s a little bit pretentious but there might be that slight effect. I definitely think that as long as people enjoy searching out new sounds they will only continue to grow in popularity. I am waiting for the day when I have to log onto Kentucky Fried Chicken presents My Old Kentucky Blog or Gorilla vs. Bear brought to you by The Gap.

Let’s get away from music for a bit. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?

As far as television goes, since I don’t own a television I am not very good at that although the original British version of the Office is fantastic stuff. In terms of movies I stand in line with all of the other worshippers of Wes Anderson and then of course there is always the original Star Wars trilogy. Also anything by the Monty Python clan and director Terry Gilliam. I also wholeheartedly enjoy eighties fantasy films and count in my small DVD collection The Neverending Story, Legend, and Willow.

Outside of music do you have any other interests or projects?

Ultimate Frisbee. There is not a better sport out there. Full stop.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Are they leading around humans dressed as animals, because if that’s true then yes, hilarious. And even if that’s not true it would still be quite funny. Of course I am basing this on the whole monkey wearing a little bellhop thing that was once quite a fad. Out.