Ilana: Yeah, if I can ask you kind of a 'political' question, you've probably heard about the music piracy on the Internet, it's been on the news lately. What is your opinion about this?

Meredith: Well, I think Courtney Love and I have a lot of the same opinions. If anybody's every read that article she wrote and put on the Internet, I think it's pretty fascinating. There is already so much piracy going on within our business, and so much power over the artist, that it's kind of ironic that everybody would be pissed off at Napster, or things like that. But the truth is, by the time I ever really see money, it's not a lot. For every amount of money that I make, my record label makes about ten times that amount, or more. For every dollar I see on an album, they see about $14 or $15. Let me say it this way, if people could be judicious about it, if they could download a song because they just wanted to hear it or sample it, and not be printing off a whole album, and then making it for all their friends, I really don't have a problem with it. It's kind of like no difference than listening to the radio, but what I object to is, downloading albums. I've had probably 500,000 downloads on "Bitch" alone. That's my income, it's the only way I make money. So if, in the future, let's say 10 years from now, I'm not in the music business and I'm an artist and struggling to figure out what to do, I've always counted on that I'd have those royalties coming into me. But I won't now, I won't have those royalties. You know there's only about 6% of all musicians and songwriters that make over $17,000 a year, it's not that many. There are a whole lot of musicians that don't make that much money. And there's only a very small few that we see on the top 40 that are really making big money. So for their protection and mine and for the future or artists, I think we need to work out something with these companies. There was one guy in the hearings that said "The only way to work this out is to go to the pirates and work out a deal with them." Like charge a minimal fee and then split it with the artist or something like that, I think would make a lot more sense, than for the companies to just be able to download my music.

Ilana: Yeah, I totally agree with that.

Meredith: It's a very hard thing because you see people swapping music and stuff all the time. God knows I've done it as a kid, and even now I'm very careful now, I don't copy music, and I don't give it away. I barley even take a free record from labels. I try to go out and buy my friends music. But in the end it could also be such a wonderful store, of getting music. So I don't really have the answers, I don't think anybody has the answers, I think it's just one of those things that is going to unfold and we're not going to have a lot of power control over.

Ilana: What is your favorite song that you wrote?

Meredith: My favorite song that I wrote? Oh wow, that is a good question. I don't have the answer to that. That would be kind of like favoring your children I think. I think I love "Bitch", "I Have Everything" is probably one of my very favorite songs I ever wrote. "Bitch" is still a favorite, but it's kind of like, wow that one gets so much attention I don't need to love that one as much. So I feel a little protective over my other songs, and say that outside of "Bitch" it would have to be probably "I Have Everything." One of the ones that I've written recently I really love, called "You Don't Know Me", that's all I'm going to tell you, on that song.

Ilana: Would it be easier for you to say what is your favorite song that someone else wrote?

Meredith: Let's see. Hmm... Nope! (laughing). I was thinking about that the other day, I actually heard it, and I'm trying to remember what it was. That's a hard call. Let me think about that one, I might have to get back to you on it. There's a couple that are my all time favorite songs. I think "Allison" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, Elvis Costello. That's one of my favorites.

Ilana: How do your old friends react, once they found out about your successful musical career?

Meredith: You know, when you said that a few high school people got a hold of you, I kind of thought that was interesting, because I really didn't know anyone in high school. I was a lot younger and graduated early. So it's been interesting because with one friend of mine that was on Behind The Music.
Which by the way did you ever get to see that?

Ilana: No, it was never broadcasted here.

Meredith: I will have my manager send you a copy.

(And she did!!! :) )

(We're interrupted by the guy who's recording the interview, reminding me we're about out of time. Meredith being as awesome as she is, asks for 10 more minutes... [eventually we got almost 15])

Ilana: Thanks! What do you consider your best qualities?

Meredith: Well, I think my best quality can also be my worst quality. And that is, I believe in the potential of every human being on earth. That is a great quality to have, I have faith in everyone. The flip side of that, of course it is very yin and yang, is that if I don't pick a winner while I'm looking at the potential. In other words if the person I'm looking at with my faith and my beliefs, isn't ready to live up to their own potential, and I give them that faith and belief; without them even earning it I should say; if I'm not picking winners I can be hurt in the process, because I put my faith and belief in someone that wasn't really there. I think everyone eventually can do anything, but my lesson on this quality is that some people are just not ready, to live up to their own highest good. And it's not my place to think that it is their highest good, so I've learned to be a little more careful, in placing my beliefs and my faith into potential, of just anyone.

Ilana: Right, you are a really wonderful person...

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?

Meredith: Right this second? I would be with you, having coffee doing this interview in person, I think it would be so awesome. Instead of on the phone.

Ilana: You're so nice...

Meredith: That's exactly where I'd want to be. I can take my guitar and write my album anywhere in the world it doesn't matter. I'm always writing. I take a journal on the plane and write. I think that would just be the coolest. And someday we'll meet, I'm sure.

Ilana: That would be like a dream come true for me.

Meredith: I think it's going to happen, you'll be surprised.

Ilana: Well, I hope it will... From the beginning of history to this day, what was your favorite time?

Meredith: From the beginning of my life till now, what was my favorite time?

Ilana: Yes.

Meredith: Wow. You know I think it's always the same, it's when I'm on stage playing, whether it's in a little club playing for four people, or playing in front of 40,000 people, it's always the same feeling. I never lose that feeling, I've never lost that feeling, of kind of being in a zone, in this very special place that is hard to get from any other place except for when I'm fully present with my music. Which, when I'm playing live I am more present with my music than I am in a rehearsal, or even writing, because I'm thinking about what I'm writing, but when I'm on stage I'm not thinking. I'm just doing. And that's my favorite time.

Ilana: Yes. What is the most important advice you can give teenagers who want to be like you when they grow up?

Meredith: I don't know, I don't think I have really good advise. Let me think. I believe that the only thing between something you want, and getting it, is emotional block. I don't believe it's time, I don't believe it's inadequacy, I don't even believe it's physical. I believe it is absolutely emotional. So the only advise I can give to anyone is to keep digging, keep looking at themselves, keep looking at their emotions. Don't be afraid of your emotions, don't let people tell you not to have the emotions that you have every right to have. Have you ever had that thought in your mind, "I can't believe I just did that again" on something that you wish you weren't doing?

Ilana: Yeah, think about it all the time...

Meredith: And then after you do it, you go "Why did I do that?" Right.

Ilana: Yes.

Meredith: Well, I believe we do those things from very early programming. From when we were little tiny babies, when we were little tiny kids, we were told a lie perhaps, or given a belief, that wasn't good for us necessarily as adults. So we keep recreating, relationships and problems, based on that. When we go back and what I call "find the lie", and we're willing to look at what it was that created that, we'll probably remove that block and bring that which we desire closer into our lives. That's my advice. It's a little complicated, but it's not, it's simple. We have to keep removing the things that get in our way emotionally. And what we tend to do is look to the outer, we tend to look at; "if I can just get this boyfriend, if I can just get through this school, if I can just to this, if I can just do that", and often what keeps us from the great relationship or the great school or the great achievement in life, has nothing to do with why we're trying to do it. It's emotional.

Ilana: Yeah, you do have a lot to teach youngsters. I think we're running out of time, so I'll ask you the last question. What else are you going to do today, after you are done with this interview?

Meredith: Well, I'm feeling really inspired after talking with you. I have one more interview to do and them I'm going to get on the bike, and then I have a writing session. And I think it's going to go really well, because you've shown me once again that, it's important to continue. It's important to keep going out there and talking to people, and doing this. It's been very much an inspiration talking with you, your questions are great.

Ilana: Which reminds me, just one more question. Do you believe in life on other planets? I had to ask you that.

Meredith: I think we'd have to be pretty arrogant to thing that there wasn't. I think that there is probably a really good chance, that there are parallel universes. That's what "Blurring The Edges" means. There's not just what we see in front of us, that to me is very clear and vary obvious because of music. I'm amazed where music comes from sometimes.

Ilana: Well thank you very much for doing this.

Meredith: Oh, you're welcome. Let me ask you something, Ok.

Ilana: Of course.

...