friday five time ... as i just returned from an evening of musical entertainment (or would "amusement" be a better term for it?), this seemed particularly appropriate.

1. who is your favorite singer/musician? why?
hahahahaha! i know i tend to be very secretive about my musical tastes - i'm not one to really discuss who i'm into and whatnot. but i suppose i should reveal to the readership here (the whole four or five of you - much love to the loyal ones!) that i'm kind of half into the musical stylings of one jason mraz. ok, enough sarcasm. mraz has been a favorite of mine for awhile now, as i believe he embodies just about everything that i'm into. talent, wit, self-depricating charm coupled with an incredible insight and the ability to convey said insight to an audience, whether it be through performance or the written word. he's more than a musician - he's a poet. not to mention that he's funny as hell and someone who doesn't appear to be falling into the pitfalls of fame - taking himself too seriously or losing touch with the person the public is now falling in love with (take notes, my dear mayer boy).

other favorites include my gateway drug into the singer-songwriter realm i love so much, that being howie day (been a fan of his for three and a half years now - good lord), as well as the musicians and great guys that come together to form averi. ben folds, rufus wainwright, tori amos, ani difranco, dave matthews (and members of dmb) and gavin degraw are also featured members of my favorites list.

2. what one singer/musician can you not stand? why?
hmm ... this one's difficult. i suppose ... *pondering* ... anyone who loses touch of themselves once fame hits winds up rubbing on my nerves. i'm struggling with a love/hate relationship with john mayer at the moment, as i used to be a huge fan of his (and had the opportunity to convey that to him way before the whole no-such-thing-room-for-squares-hi-i'm-a-boy-band-with-one-boy phenomenon took place) but am now realizing that the john i knew and became a fan of has become a nonentity ...

some others i have no use for: jessica simpson (found in the mixed up files of ms. victoria under "moron"), john tesh (ick) and vitamin c (because i'm still traumatized by "the graduation song" - thanks beth). there are many that i personally don't feel a strong connection with, but i acknowledge that there are others who may feel the same way i feel about an artist/s like mraz or howie about someone like, say, 50 cent or tool or whatnot.

3. if your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
i can't say, as i don't know mraz outside of his music. besides, if he wasn't in the music business, i probably wouldn't know he exists. not to mention that he wouldn't be who he is if he wasn't involved with music ... from what i've seen/read/heard about him, however, i think i'd still find him very cool and would be totally down for a drink and some conversation ...

4. have you been to any concerts? if yes, who put on the best show?
i am very, VERY fortunate in the respect that i've been able to attend many concerts, from the very large (woodstock '99 with hundreds of thousands of my closest friends) to the very small (my benefit concert, anyone? or the concert at met cafe in providence where michelle and i watched a band break up in less than three songs' time - during our escape from the sold-out, teeny-bopper ordeal that was mayer at lupo's). i've attended country, classical, punk, alternative, singer-songwriter, metal, funk, jam band and other shows at colleges, fairs, professional venues, stadiums, even an air force base and a vintage clothing store. the only thing i enjoy about music more than being able to pop in a cd i love is seeing a musician or group live. i don't think i could possibly select one concert as the best one i've attended - each one has something special about it, much as that may sound like a cop-out answer. some highlights, however, include guster at the flynn in 2001, virgina coalition/howie day/pat mcgee band at their three-hour-plus paradise show back in 2000 (wow, three years ago this december ...), live at memorial aud, ani at memorial, tori at both the patriot center and the palace theater, several of the averi shows i've attended (special moment: chad's solo version of "daffodils" played for me), matt nathanson's second set at the smc coffeehouse, john mayer/glen phillips at higher ground, howie/mayer at paradise 6.18.01, particular moments at woodstock, dmb at spac, counting crows at spac. the list honestly could go on and on. i often leave concerts thinking to myself that what i just experienced was "the greatest show ever."

5. what are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
while in dc, i almost applied for a job with the riaa - but i couldn't go through with it, as i find that its download policing is something i simply cannot agree with. i know there are people out there who take blatant advantage of the capabilities downloading provides - hell, there are many songs i have on my computer that i downloaded and i was booted off napster for awhile because i had some metallica mp3s on and was caught red-handed (red-computerized, should i say?). but i have to assume that most of the people out there are like me in the respect that they ultimately repay the artists for the money they might be losing out on each time i click "save as" and download some random mp3. take mraz. i have in my posession tons of live shows on cd (thanks paul!), as well as burned copies of most of, if not all, his now-unavailable independent releases. but i bought "waiting for my rocket to come." i've spent money on some merchandise. i'm going to be attending one, if not two, concerts within the next month. most of the musicians i've downloaded have been people i've ultimately seen in concert or they've released albums i've purchased.

there are many times where i would never have even listened to a musician or group had i not downloaded the mp3 to give it a shot. as long as they have the ability and talent to back up the slickly produced studio albums, artists have nothing to fear. it's like john mayer said: you can burn a copy of a show, but you can't burn the experience of being there. listen to the 6.18.01 show and listen to him instruct the "photographers" to take a photo all at the same time. you can't see the pose he makes - if i hadn't been there, i couldn't have gotten my photographs back and see my personal copy of the pose from the angle at which i stood in the front row. i couldn't have heard him sing, "you are invincible" during "no such thing" and remember how he looked down at me while he sang the line.

therefore, i maintain that the riaa is attempting to protect artists' rights - those without the ability to cross from the singer/musician realm into that of performer and true artist.

ok, tirade over. it's after 3 a.m., i woke up this morning (yesterday morning?) at 4:45 a.m. and i have to wake up around 7 to write up as much of my column as i can before work at 11. i'll write more about the amusement this evening provided when i'm rested and refreshed. until then, i leave you with teases of late night/sugar- and iced coffee-infused amusement (deep philosophical discussions about how life would be better in so many areas if coffee flavoring was involved), four bands and nearly four hours of music to support a presidential candidate, a blast from the high school past and general good times.

keep safe, chickadees, and stay indoors over the next few days if you're in danger of getting blown away by isabel - be careful!