I don’t know if this has happened to you but I seem to be continuously taking part in the following scenario: I meet someone new or are becoming better acquainted with someone. We discuss pop culture, tastes, interests etc. They ask me what my favorite band is. I stare at them blankly.

Truth be told: I don’t have a favorite band.

Don’t get me wrong, I love music. (I must, seeing as I have 46 gigabytes worth of it.) But I’ve never fallen in lockstep with one band and considered them the be all, end all. There will be spats of time where I only seem to listen to one band. But then I get tired of it and move on to another. Only to rediscover that first band again 9 months down the road and realize (again) how amazing they are. Then get tired of them (again) and move on. And so the cycle continues over and over again, band after band, artist after artist.

But I’ve never had one band or artist that is it. I’ve never had a group that defines me as a person. That sums me up. That I see every time they are playing in the area. Whose website I check daily. I don’t really have any shirts with bands on them. Growing up I never really had posters for musicians etc.

On the other side of the coin, I know people who live by a certain band. That band and their music is everything to them. They have the shirts, they go to the shows, they subscribe to the newsletter, it’s always playing in their car etc. To the point where if someone mentions that band, you immediately think of that person. There is a direct association between that person and the band that they worship.

I’m not one of those people. And, you know what, sometimes I wish I was.

I’m envious of the stability of that relationship. Whatever happens in life, that person has that band. That person is secure in the knowledge that they share a special bond with that group (in their mind at least) and always will, whenever times are tough.

But simultaneously, I can’t help but feel the idea of a favorite band, or complete devotion to one artist, is a bit short sighted. One dimensional even. There is so much music in the world. And I’m sure these people like other music but to be so tethered (or so they make it seem publicly) seems unnecessary. Maybe that is how these people really feel, or maybe they just like having that stand-out characteristic that helps define them. I’m not sure.

All I know is, I don’t have a single favorite band. Never have. And I imagine, never will. Anyone else with me on this one? Or should I just pick one I feel comfortable naming if someone asks and be done with it?