I have a ton of stuff to share about my recent travels, but first I wanted to give you some insight into a blog that needs some recognition. Villains Always Blink is run by Kelly in Canada and it’s been a frequent stop of mine since I added it to my blogroll. Always up to date and usually offering some very nice MP3 selections, it’s definitely a site you should be checking out. I’m very happy to have Kelly answer my questions, and I hope you enjoy the interview.

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

I live in Victoria, British Columbia. I moved to BC from Ontario four years ago to go to university. Victoria has got the whole mountains and ocean thing working for it. Plus, it’s close enough to Vancouver and Seattle.

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?

I don’t really remember what the first album was that I actually purchased myself. It was probably something really terrible. I was pretty young when my dad gave me his old record player and a stack of his old vinyls from the 70s which I thought was the coolest thing. I do remember that the Mini Pops and the Snoopy albums got spun a lot (those were my album, not my dad’s). When I was growing up, my dad was almost always playing music, which gave me an appreciation for older music like the Stones, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Neil Young. In high school, I was into the whole Seattle scene. I had a lot of Nirvana cds, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Dinosaur Jr., Smashing Pumpkins, the Lemonheads, Jane’s Addiction, Sonic Youth, Eric’s Trip. I was hugely into the Beastie Boys then too. Eventually, I found Radiohead.

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

The other day I bought Grandaddy–Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla, Wilco–A.M., Neil Young with Crazyhorse–Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Belle and Sebastian–The Life Pursuit, the Village Green, Giant Drag–Hearts and Unicorns, and Rocky Votolato–Makers. Before that, I bought Ted Leo and the Pharmacists–Tyranny of Distance, Cat Power–The Greatest, Slender Means–Neon and Ruin, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins–Rabbit Fur Coat, the Elected–Sun, Sun, Sun, and We Are Scientists–Love and Squalor.

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?

In Victoria, I usually shop at A&B Sound or Lyle’s Place. When I’m in Vancouver, I usually go to Zulu. And I never leave Seattle without going to Easy Street Records and Sonic Boom (my favourite record stores). They have a lot of great in-store performances too. With the exception of A&B Sound (which is a chain store in western Canada), I like to try and support independent record stores whenever I can. If I can’t find a cd or if I am too impatient to wait for the Canadian release, I usually order it online from Insound, CDBaby, or directly from the label or band’s site.

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?

When I was younger and started listening to music, I stumbled haphazardly upon some bands on my own or would mostly listen to what my friends introduced me to. Radiohead was one band that definitely opened the door to a lot of others musicians and older bands that I had missed or had been too young to really appreciate. Now, I’d say that one band leading to listening to another happens to me all the time. When I get into a band, I look into what music they like and other bands that they are associated with.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

The Velvet Underground–Loaded, the Velvet Underground with Nico, the Smiths–Meat is Murder, Neil Young–After the Gold Rush, Elliott Smith–From a Basement on a Hill, Elliott Smith-(self-titled), Bright Eyes–Lifted, Radiohead–the Bends, Radiohead–Ok Computer, Wilco–A Ghost is Born, Belle and Sebastian–the Boy With the Arab Strap, the Kinks–The Kink Kronikles, Rilo Kiley–Execution of All Things. More recently, Wolf Parade–Apologies to the Queen Mary, Arcade Fire-Funeral and Feist–Let It Die.

Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

About a quarter of my collection is in another province, but I’d say that I have about 350 or 400 cds, and I have a ton of music on my computer.

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

Lou Reed and Neil Young are at the top of the list because I am fascinated by both of them, and Feist or Emily Hanes because they seem like they would be fun to hang out with.

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?

I don’t remember the first show that I went to. When I was younger, I used to go to a lot of shows by local bands, but that don’t really count. A recent favourite show that stands out was when I saw the Faint last spring in New York. I went to one show, and then I was given some VIP passes, so I convinced my friends to see them for the second time in a few days. They are a fantastic live band. My Morning Jacket in Seattle last fall was a great show too.

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

There are a ton of bands that I’m looking forward to seeing this year. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wolf Parade, the Shins, Destroyer, Neko Case, Editors, Cat Power, Built to Spill, Voxtrot, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists.

How did you choose the name of your blog?

‘Villains Always Blink’ is a Velvet Underground lyric from ‘Sweet Jane.’ “You know that women never really faint and that villains always blink their eyes. And that children are the only ones who blush, and that life is just to die.” I was listening to the Velvet Underground a lot when I started my blog. I don’t know. I’m terrible at naming things. I hate to think how long it would take me to name my kid if I ever had one, or even a pet for that matter.

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

There were a few things that lead me to starting a music blog. I had a job that gave me a lot of free time (probably too much free time). One of my favourite things to do is to talk about music, and having a blog is a great excuse to talk about music as much as I want. I’m always reading about bands or searching out and hearing new bands and then of course, I want to share these little discoveries. I love introducing my friends to new bands. For a long time, I was reading blogs, and I wanted to write a blog, but I was hesitant. There are some really amazing bloggers out there who have impeccable taste in music and that was a bit intimidating, but I decided that I would give it a try anyway. My taste in music is a work in progress. It’s been a lot of fun so far. I don’t really know how popular my blog. I’m appreciative that people stop by to read what I’ve got to say or listen to a band that I’m into.

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

The blogs that I read everyday are Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan (Brooklyn Vegan was one of the first blogs that I started reading regularly), You Ain’t No Picasso, Gorilla vs. Bear, My Old Kentucky Blog, Central Village, the Modern Age, Chromewaves, For the Records, Just Keep Bloggin’, Clever Titles Are So Last Summer, Yeti Don’t Dance, Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands, Sixeyes, Aquarium Drunkard, and of course Muzzle of Bees. Indie Interviews does a great weekly podcast. I read pretty much all the blogs that I have listed on my site regularly.

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 think that for new indie bands (especially unsigned ones) blogs are very important. Blogs offer free exposure and the attention that unknown bands want. Every once and awhile, I think that they can help give an up and coming band even more momentum to break out. For bands that are already pretty well-known, I don’t know how much effect blogs have on their album sales. Well-known bands can stay relevant more easily on their own. In the short time that I’ve been blogging, it seems like the number of music blogs out there has doubled. I hope that they do continue to be popular. They generate discussion about new music and get people talking about their favourite bands.

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

I love The Office (both the American and BBC versions), the Daily Show, Grey’s Anatomy, Conan O’Brien, Spenny vs. Kenny, and the Family Guy.

I watched Walk the Line a few weeks ago, and it was really pretty good. Others movies that I like are the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Annie Hall, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sin City, and I love music documentaries.

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

Other than listening to music incessantly, one of my favourite things to do is to write. I write short stories sometimes, and I’m looking into writing for a few more sites.

A lot of people have a favorite concert t-shirt, do you have one?

I don’t really buy concert t-shirts anymore. I stopped buying t-shirts from shows when I realized that I never wear them, and they just stayed in my drawer. I would rather buy a cd at a show.

In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat on your city?

There is a restaurant called Pagliacci’s that I like. The diner at the end of my street called Pluto’s that has an awesome breakfast.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Humiliating for everyone involved.