there are those times where you scream 'i love this band so much!', and a fellow fan excited exclaims in return, 'ahh finally! do you know ____ song, it's so good right!', and you realize you don't know it. Then comes the moment of disappointment. It doesn't really help that such standards are assumed and not said explicitly.

It's almost like a must to know (not necessarily love) the band's entire discography before calling yourself a fan. I mean, of course they wouldn't deny your positive feelings for them, they just won't think you love them enough (or as much as they do). It seems as though those positive feelings have to be enough in order to be called love. 

To accept that is kind of like saying, you have to know the essence of a person (up to this point) before you can say you really love them. [We assume that the essence of a singer = her songs. Essence being the qualities of a person/object that can't be lost, or else s/he/it will cease to be the person/object]. 

It makes sense theoretically and idealistically, but in actual fact, most of us don't even know or can't figure out the essence of the person we love even after death. It doesn't make sense to say 'if that's the case, we haven't really loved anyone after all'.

Thus to make things simpler, enough, or anything that brings about comparison should just be taken out of the equation. Simply, we are entitled to love, since we are unable to define what the essence is. (like how the assumption that essence of a singer = her songs could be wrong).

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Yeah right, I don't believe in having no standards. I have standards of love that I'm continually trying to define, and am unable to take 'there isn't really an answer' for an answer. Because I'm afraid of getting hurt, what else.

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Moral of the story is, as of now, I think it shouldn't be a requirement to know the band's discography to love them.. i've digressed.