I am not a fan of chitchat.  To paraphrase Bethenny Frankel (sorry), I don’t like small talk, I like big talk.  Perhaps the most annoying question – more annoying than “where are you from?” or “what do you do?” is – What kind of music do you listen to?I fucking loathe this question for a myriad of reasons.  First, when asked my mind inevitably goes blank, and all I can think of is Bob Marley.  This answer is almost as annoying as the question because who the fuck doesn’t like Bob Marley?  Second, it’s a loaded fucking question.  The asker is really leveraging this question to bathe you in judgment.  For example, if you say indie, then you become Indie and all that it implies.  The most commonly tired-ass trite answer to this question is, “…anything but country.”  But for those hedgers, I have one word for you: Jolene.   If you go super obscure, you risk looking like a try-hard douche, and if you answer Maroon 5, then you are a douche. Third, the people who like to ask this grating question also like to follow it up with a pop-quiz.  Oh, you like techno, have you heard the new Trentemøller?  (Word of advice, if you must answer this dreadful question don’t ever answer with “techno” even if you fucking love techno).  Oh, you like The White Stripes, have you heard Jack White’s new solo album?  These questions just become an opportunity for the asker to act like an all-knowing asshole.  Asking someone’s music taste is a generic inquiry and answering it is rife with potential dignity issues.  Nobody really cares what kind of music anybody listens to anyway, so let’s all come up with some new thinly-veiled opportunity for judgment.