what kind of music do you like?

Your browser does not support the audio element, which I use to trigger playback of a music sample in this post. As a teenager, I used to have a really easy time answering this question. I understood who my peers were, what their answers were, and what I could say to differentiate myself from them: James Murphy's prattled list in Losing My Edge Basically, interpreting the question as a signaling exercise - the grown up version of "what's your favourite colour?" from when I was three years old and responding "red" meant that I was a bit of a hotshot 😎 I did sincerely love math rock and BEAK> and wanted to express this passion with people, but given how often those responses lead to unsatisfying nonparticipatory conversations, the fact that I continued to respond with namedrops for so long suggests I remained motivated by ego. Now, instead of trying to demonstrate my superior taste like a shotputter, I try to respond in a way that invites connection and good conversation. The trouble is…