Is liking British alternative rockers Coldplay really a mark of being gay?

I was recently caught off guard while watching a teaser for the cable series "Bones" when it was insinuated that a character was gay because he liked the British band Coldplay.

Cold-gay? I wouldn't be so shocked by the association had not a bunch of friends once accused me being a "faux-mo" for playing "A Rush of Blood to the Head" in my car! Those music police forced me to change to "Moulin Rouge" soundtracks - more appropriate for self-respecting card-carrying homosexuals.

Since it was a teaser and the episode in question as yet to air, I'm waiting to find out if the character is indeed gay. On one hand, if true, it's nice that I can keep my gay membership card. On the other hand, I wonder. When did the British band become a gay icon?

So I did some googling and found a line from the movie "40-Year-Old Virgin" and there it was: "You know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay."

Gays call it straight. Straights call it gay. That's the problem with labels. According to a "Vanity Fair" article on stuff white people like, Caucasians who are in favour of the band also belong to the category of "basic" level of musical literacy.

I beg to differ, though. Coldplay's big, sweeping sound with lush melodies and wrenching lyrics is a perfect fit for the vicissitude of modern relationships. That's why their songs are often played in movies and television shows.

Playing "The Scientist" on a rainy day, who among us can resist looking out the window and imagine being the lead in our own drama show? My personal favourite, "Clock," happened to be in the background at a critical point in one of my past non-relationships. Listening to it always take me back to 2005.

The huge popularity of Coldplay may reflect today's reality where more and more people list their Facebook relationship status not as "Single" or "In a relationship" but "It's complicated". The truth is most of us, homos or heteros, are suckers for dramas.

Bad taste in music? Depends. Bad taste in men? Guilty as charged.