By Carelton Atwater

Music is a big part of many college students’ lives. Northeastern University students are no exception. The Northeastern News spoke with Morris Phiban, a junior psychology major, about his musical tastes, the RIAA and Boston’s music scene.

The Northeastern News: What kind of music do you listen to?

Morris Phiban: A lot of stuff, a lot of electronic stuff.

The News: Like what?

Phiban: Kraftwerk, Adult, Hot Hot Heat. Of course I listen to plenty of other stuff too, like Nick Drake, for example. I listen to a lot of varied stuff.

The News: How often to you listen to music?

Phiban: Whenever I feel the need, I guess.

The News: Do you listen to it when you study at all?

Phiban: Sometimes; it depends on what I’m doing. If I’m reading, I generally try not to. I find it distracting. But if I’m doing a paper, I will.

The News: What do you listen to then?

Phiban: Very minimal stuff, a lot of Kraftwerk. Just something that’s not too distracting but has a good rhythm I can get in to.

The News: Do you download a lot of music?

Phiban: No. Actually, I usually just borrow CDs from friends. There are a few Web Sites I go to, but not that often. The kind of stuff I listen to is harder to find.

The News: What do you think about the RIAA issuing subpoenas?

Phiban: I think that’s wrong. I guess they have the legal backing for it, but I just think it’s kind of silly and pointless.

The News: Are you concerned about getting caught?

Phiban: No, not at all. From what I understand, the RIAA is going after people with real popular stuff on their computer like Avril Lavine and that’s not the kind of stuff I have on my computer.

The News: Do you think people will ever stop file sharing?

Phiban: I guess they could, but it’d be really hard. A lot of the programs out there don’t use a centralized server, like Gnutella, so it’s almost impossible to shut down.

The News: Do you think Boston has a good music community?

Phiban: Yeah, there are so many different communities. The hip-hop community is really strong here. A lot of great new music is coming out of Boston.

The News: One of the music styles Boston is most famous for is Ska-punk. What do you think of that?

Phiban: I never really got in to that kind of stuff. It’s pretty good stuff, just not my thing.