I always feel awkward when asked my favorite color, song, or any other type of trivial question. I have my standard responses I remain consistent with over time, but they are only consistent lies. Are those types of questions fundamentally awkward to you too?
I like things that look nice. I may lean toward one color or another at times, but I would never seek out the color before or to the exclusion of something that looks nice. It feels like color prejudice or something to say I have a favorite. I’m open minded to all colors in any situation more like an artistic mind I guess. That is the kind of thought process I go through when I’m asked to pick my favorite (x). I want to respond with the equally vague questions of when and what circumstances.
Some may call it over thinking, but what use is there in saying you have a favorite when in reality it is more complicated. Like, is that favorite song playing at a wedding, a house party, and a funeral. Or, are all your clothes your favorite color.
What do you think a person’s response to such questions says about them, their depth, curiosity, and open mindedness?
I don’t know if I’m offended or shocked that you’d call music “trivial”.
My preferences for music are both intense and very granular. It’s annoying to my wife that I’m constantly trying to figure out what she likes about the music she listens to, when she says she just likes what she likes. But even she thinks music is important, even if she avoids analyzing her preferences.
When I say a song is a favorite, I mean I could literally listen to it on loop and probably have. I mean I will never skip it if it comes on during shuffle. Most of those songs have a high level of emotional intensity, especially despair; female or especially mixed male and female vocals; rock or folk instrumentation; and themes of loss but not usually regret.
Not knowing why you like or dislike a piece of music is like not knowing why you like or dislike a food, or a person, or a smell, or a building. How can you go through life knowing so little about yourself?
To me, anything that is not vital to survival can be called trivial. I often use hyperbolic language to invoke a reaction. It is not intended to offend outside of the specific context I give. I am not trying to belittle your identity. I hope you never experience life altering circumstances like I have with disability. This forced me to shift interests that defined me. Music was one of these. I can not play a guitar often, and with enough constant pain, most music wears thin on me. I like a great many types of music. On a bike, doing physical therapy, I like thrash metal with a tempo close to my pedal cadence. When programing, I like euphoric deep house with absolutely no vocals of any kind. Driving or in general, I bounce between 80’s metal, 90’s grunge, very specific southern rock/country like some of Eric Church’s stuff, or some modern Louisiana bayou blues/rock. I occasionally also like classical composition or something like Ramstein thrown into the mix.
My favorites, are different for different circumstances, so just asking my favorite is a silly question with no answer. Most of the time I will say something like Metallica because it is what I play on a guitar most of the time.