Twice a week we invite independent music writers and bloggers to tell us about what they do. Today: a site 'bringing you music from the past, present and quite possibly the future'

Who are you and what's your blog called?

I'm Andy von Pip and I run the Von Pip Musical Express (The VPME).

Where are you based?

I'm from Liverpool originally but now reside within the cultural oasis that is the Wirral, home of John Peel, Half Man Half Biscuit and … er, the inspirational Ray Stubbs.

Describe your blog in a sentence.

The anti-Cowell, bringing you music from the past, present and quite possibly the future.

How long has your blog been going?

We started five years ago with no particular ambition other than to highlight the vast array of talent that we were unearthing via Myspace. I guess we just wanted to give these artists some sort of platform – and it also gave us an excuse to slag off all things Cowell.

What do you write about?

Primarily new music, but we do like to mix it up by highlighting and interviewing iconic artists from the past. We generally only feature music we like, but sometimes if we feel a band is being ludicrously overhyped we may dip our virtual quill in vitriol.

Why should people visit your blog?

We hope readers find the features entertaining and that they discover great new music. We have regular features such as track of the day, the Friday freebie, songs to learn and sing, plus regular podcasts as well as exclusive interviews alongside gig and album reviews. So for example, you may find features on fabulous new bands such as Pins or Curxes, live reviews featuring maybe Brooklyn's latest wonder band, while in the archive you can browse through exclusive interviews with the Jesus and Mary Chain's Jim Reid, Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson from Lush and Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit fame.

What's your top song right now?

Asking a music blogger for their top song is a bit like asking Imelda Marcos to pick her favourite pair of shoes. However we'll pick a local band we love. Coming from Liverpool we've often bemoaned the fact that so many groups have tried to replicate the Beatles-sound. This all-enveloping miasma of nostalgia seemed to cause a kind of backward-looking, artistic stagnation and as a consequence Liverpool seemed a city forever locked in the past, a prisoner to its history. But over the last few years a new generation has found its feet and, while respecting Liverpool's musical heritage, they are not allowing it to define them. So we'll go for a song by a band who sound more like an edgy grunged-up version of the Slits featuring PJ Harvey than Merseybeat pastiche.

Wet Mouth are a four-piece Liverpool-based band who hail from England and Norway. This is their song White Light.

What's your favourite music blog aside from your own?

We'd go for Brighton-based the Recommender. They write about music we like in their own voice. Brighton seems to be the UK equivalent of Brooklyn in terms of great bands. It's also a blog that doesn't rush to be first to post about an artist for hipster points. You sense they are genuinely enthused about the music they write about and are not just generating "blog buzz".