5. Barenaked Ladies

"What's your favorite band?"

*sighhh*

What an infuriatingly simple yet impossible to answer question. Is anyone really so one-dimensional that they have just one favorite band? Luckily, I do have a stock answer I can use whenever asked this question: Barenaked Ladies. I've been a fan for almost 10 years, I own most of their albums, and I can listen to their music anytime, anywhere and it puts me in a good mood. But like most people, one band cannot tell the entire story of my musical personality.

Heck, I don't even have one single type of music that I can call my favorite! I like all types of music, I think that most genres have something to offer to the soundtrack of my life. But if I had to pick a favorite type of music, I would have to invent a new genre and call it "nerd rock."

It's a pretty simple formula actually: a male lead singer who is slightly awkward yet completely adorable, who sings with a little cry in his voice (technically known as an epiglottal flip ... only the truly nerdy musicians among us know what that is without going to Wiki!), paired with your basic guitar/bass/drums combo, with a piano and some wind instruments for kicks. Mix all of this with lyrics that are witty and irreverant without being gratuitously offensive, and you've got yourself the ultimate nerd rock band! Barenaked Ladies is a prime example of nerd rock, but they are not the only nerd rockers out there: Domestic Problems, Weezer, Ben Folds, James Blunt, Jason Mraz, and OAR are other fine examples.

But what about non-nerd rockers on my playlist? Here is just a sampling of some other favorite bands in my life:
Favorite local band - Domestic Problems (regional version of BNL)
Favorite band to see in concert - 19 Wheels
Favorite band had I been born 10 years earlier - Duran Duran
Favorite band had I been born 20 years earlier - Chicago (25 or 6 to 4 baby!)
Favorite band had I been born 30 years earlier - Simon & Garfunkel
Favorite late 90s teen queen - Christina Aguilera
Favorite late 90s boy band - Backstreet Boys (I thought the blonde guy was super delicious; not Nick Carter, the other one ... or am I thinking of 98 Degrees?!)
Favorite rappers - Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh
Favorite country crooner - Martina McBride
Favorite Christian band - Audio Adrenaline
Favorite punk cover band - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Favorite hard rock band - Metallica
Favorite WTH are you even talking about band: They Might Be Giants
Previous favorite band that I am most ashamed of - Color Me Badd (this is all my sister's fault)
Favorite bands that prompt changing the station (3 way tie!) - Phil Collins/Genesis, Pink, and Smashing Pumpkins

So ... what's YOUR favorite band? ;-)