Having a favorite is cool. It’s decisive, shows you’ve considered the question before, and is a clear window into the curation of your preferences.. I don’t have a favorite food, color, movie, TV Show, sexual position, or vacation spot, but I do have a favorite band. The 1975, the indie pop/rock/whatever genre they’re feeling at the moment group from Manchester is my favorite band.
What does having a favorite entail? It’s a question worth considering, especially in the face of having a definitive favorite of anything. Is your favorite the only option you exercise? I don’t think so. Consider a favorite flavor of ice cream. Maybe you only eat your favorite flavor, but I’d argue that despite having an overall favorite flavor, in certain instances, most people will prioritize variety. Music is obviously the same. Sometimes to better appreciate your favorite, you must exercise other options. Then do you compare a favorite to others? Maybe sometimes, but that consideration doesn’t quite feel right to me either.
To me, a favorite is the choice that comes rushing forward at the mention of the category of choice. When I think of ice cream, I think of the cookie dough flavor. I don’t want cookie dough ice cream every time I’m craving a cone, but it surely is my favorite. Your favorite comes to mind because of the quality of the product, and memories in which it is prominently featured. I’d argue you need both of these aspects to consider anything a favorite.
Looking at the product of The 1975—their music and overall brand identity/aesthetic/place in the public sphere, it’s pretty clear why it appeals to me. For starters, they consistently refuse to place themselves in one genre. Listening to any one of their albums straight through is to be taken for a ride through every corner of their minds. From rock to gospel, they cover the entire spectrum. This appeals to me because I like to think I’m someone that does the same. I’m hard to pin down, tend to float between social groups, and fancy myself a jack of all trades. I don’t want just one thing, and they speak to every iteration of me. A lot of artists are good for one thing, but The 1975 appeals to fun me, happy me, sadboi me, let loose me, melancholy me, as well as funky me. They also have a spectacular live show. As much as I love listening to their albums, nothing compares to seeing them live. They deliver in every way: Matty Healy’s vocals are just as mind bending as they are when recorded, their visuals make your eyes pop, and they are truly excited to be there. Next, they utilize their celebrity for good. From a small scale like taking steps to curtail ticket piracy to the large scale of writing songs about and donating to causes fighting gun violence, they are socially conscious chaps who take steps to try to brighten the world they inhabit.
Moving into the memories I have associated with them, they range from fun to meaningful, from solo to huge groups. The first time I ever saw them live was Coachella in 2016 with a group of some of my best friends. From that moment, my friend Kidder and I decided they were our favorite. He’d been listening to them for awhile, but I had somehow missed their first album. Their 2016 album, I like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it remains my favorite album of all-time. Dancing with Kidder in a million situations is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of The 1975. The rush of love and warmth for both a previous life living in Los Angeles, going out together and fucking around, to now, sending each other opinions on their new album across the country is the kind of thing that keeps relationships burning over time. Kidder and I have traveled to Texas together to see them, seen them at Coachella twice, and have spent countless nights coming home from a bar and BLASTING their music at 3am to our own dance party. The ritual of pregaming for a night out with some Beam and 1975 is one that we’ve discussed will keep on keeping on for the rest of our lives.
The 1975 is something I love sharing with those around me. Phoebe became a huge fan in her own right when we started dating (my Bumble blurb was one of their lyrics “We’re all just the same, what a shame.”), and it’s been so special for us to experience their music and concerts together as well. Beyond that, The 1975 makes me think of such happy and beautiful times: The second time I saw them at Coachella, it was with perhaps the greatest group I could ask for. It was Kidder, Phoebe, our friend Sydney (a huge fan), and my sister Meg and her boyfriend Kevin. I took my little sister Beth, and my friend Olivia to their show in San Francisco, and we had a rockin time. One time, my friend Lily texted me saying she was sort of getting into them but needed a little guidance, so she and I smoked some weed, and listened to their I like it when you sleep straight through in a hot tub, and I smiled so big as at my favorite sequence her eyes lit up and she understood. Meeting one of Phoebe’s best friends, Helen, was special because she immediately said “I hear we share the same favorite band.” Instant friends obviously.
Perhaps it’s fitting that while reluctant to name a favorite in pretty much any other category, I’m able to name a favorite band. Favorite sneakers? I oscillate between my vans and chucks. Cuisine? CaliMex is hard to beat, but what about Thai? Or Meditterannean? Even other artforms. I don’t have a favorite movie, or book, or painting, or play. I can appreciate all of those, but quite frankly, after I’m done experiencing those things, I move onto them. I told Phoebe the other day that for me to think about a movie or TV show the day after I watch it, it has to be absolutely spectacular. But music, music is different for me. It has always been the art form that speaks to me the most, and the proverbial bar for me to be stopped in my tracks is much lower for music than that of anything else. Looking back at my life, it’s music that is paired with time periods. Not a food or a smell, but an album or a song. Study Abroad? A lot of Paolo Nutini, Jeremy Loops, and Beatenberg while I bounced around carelessly. Middle School? John Mayer was walking me through what feelings are. Music can strike a valley of devastation within me as quickly as it can hurtle me up a mountain of euphoria, and nothing else outside of the people I love can do that. Having a favorite band feels right.
What is a favorite? A favorite is something that brings a rush of memories and happiness. A favorite is the best in a category, but what’s important is that it’s not objective. It’s the best in a category in your own head, and your own heart.
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