Lisa Loeb is a movie fan — a huge one.

“It is my favorite thing to do,” she said Feb. 19 from a hotel room phone in New York City. “I love watching as many movies as possible. Last week, I think I watched five or six.”

Among her most recent screenings: “The Wedding Singer” (which earned a “hilarious” rating from the Dallas-born singer/songwriter) and “The Man Who Knew Too Little.”

“I’ve never seen such a bad movie,” she said about the latter.

But movies mean much more than a simple laugh or cry to Loeb, who transformed from a coffee house crooner to an MTV regular thanks to a movie.

It was “Reality Bites,” the low-budget, real world drama by Hollywood newcomer Ben Stiller, that made Loeb a star and the lullaby “Stay (I Missed You)” a favorite among the twentysomething generation.

The song not only garnered Loeb a record deal with Geffen, but landed her stage time with Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, the Indigo Girls and Sarah McLachlan.

It all began at Brown University, where Loeb was studying comparative literature, but spending most of her time performing at local clubs with classmate Liz Mitchell. (Duncan Sheik was also in the band for a short time.)

“I went to high school at a very conservative all girls school, so college was a time for creative exploration,” Loeb said. “We all sat around the music theater, critiquing each other. It was an entrepreneurial place to be.”

An acting student at the school by the name of Ethan Hawke became a fan of Liz and Lisa’s music and built a friendship with Loeb.

When Loeb graduated and headed to New York City, she coincidentally moved in next door to Hawke, who had just finished filming “Dead Poets Society.”

“He came over one day and told me he wanted to use one of my songs for something,” Loeb said. “It was really cool for him to be so supportive.”

Hawke proposed the song to Stiller, who decided it was perfect for the movie. Soon after, “Reality Bites” opened and critics went nuts over the movie and the song.

“‘Reality Bites’ was a love story unfortunately marketed as a Gen X film,” Loeb said. “It was embarrassing for me. I like being associated with Ethan, but the whole Gen X thing didn’t represent me at all. Who I am has nothing to do with the slacker generation.”

Loeb is no stranger to misrepresentation.

She has been a marketer’s dream toy since she emerged onto radio and MTV three years ago. She began as a “spokeswoman for Generation X,” along with “Reality Bites” stars Janeane Garafalo and Winona Rider.

Now, Loeb is one of the leaders of the “ladies of the ’90s movement,” mainly due to her role in McLachlan’s highly successful Lilith Fair tour.

“It’s kind of bizarre that the Lilith Fair has had such an obvious effect on how women are treated by the media,” Loeb said. “Before [Lilith Fair] radio stations wouldn’t play a Sheryl Crow song and a Lisa Loeb song back-to-back. It was really stupid. But that doesn’t happen anymore.”

Loeb said the Lilith Fair was commonly marketed as something different than what it really was.

“We considered ourselves just musicians touring together, it was not as much about women uniting as the media made it seem,” she said. “Personally, I had a good time talking to other people who do what I do.”

Loeb is currently touring with McLachlan on what has been dubbed a preview to the 1998 Lilith Fair. Both artists are supporting new records.

“Firecracker,” the follow-up to Loeb’s “Tails,” was released in late fall along with the Top 40 hit “I Do.”

Although it is the first song on the record, “I Do” was the last one Loeb wrote. She added the song to contrast the many dark and moody tracks on “Firecracker.”

“‘I Do’ is about a really unfortunate situation,” Loeb said. “It’s a fictional story about a bad relationship and getting out of it.”

“Falling In Love,” a song that features Colvin singing harmonies with Loeb and producer Juan Pati¤o, has a sound opposite of “I Do,” but a story somewhat the same.

“It’s a story about an unfortunate love affair — about a woman who picks up the wrong man,” Loeb said. “It was written around the chorus. The first time you hear it, you think ‘she’s in love, that’s nice.’ The second time, it’s ‘something’s wrong.’ And the last time, it’s ‘they were never in love in the first place.'”

Loeb is a storyteller and always has been.

“When I was young, the people who made up stuff were always more admirable,” she said. “My songs are about my perspective on things, not my life experiences.

“I write about the things that make you feel human, like talking on the phone with friends,” she continued. “I can’t explain politics as well as CNN, but what I can do is write about surviving in life.”

Loeb will be performing at Stephens Auditorium with McLachlan Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are sold out.