16 Comments

Excellent post! I feel like I'm the Chief Skepticism Officer in every context, so this sort of thing really rings my chimes. You could even say that my great interest in motivated reasoning is an example of motivated reasoning. I was born to be the Devil's Advocate.

I love the map. Indeed, I wanted Iowa (where I live now) to be Slipknot and not uncool Andy Williams (and I did not know Andy was from Iowa!); I wanted Michigan (where I was born) to be Bob Seger rather than chirpy Madonna; I wanted Georgia (where I grew up) to be somebody other than crazy Kanye.

Beyond that, I’m very surprised that Kenny G has been more successful than Jimi Hendrix, that Prince has been more successful than Bob Dylan, and that Whitney Houston has been more successful than Bruce Springsteen. But what do I know?

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I think you and my husband would get along! Perhaps there can be a convention for family Chief Skepticism Officers. ;-)

I confess that I was surprised that Whitney Houston was the musician for NJ instead of Bruce, but the mapmakers may have included earnings from films and commercial licensing too.

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I would love to make friends with fellow CSOs. There doesn't seem to be any at all here at my university :·)

Come to think of it, every university needs to have a CSO, maybe at the Associate Provost level! I would be perfect for that job.

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I fully agree! And every company too! (Matt serves as CSO at his job too.)

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Also: Backstreet Boys more successful than Tom Petty? That one really does seem off.

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OMG, I need to put Tom Petty for my Florida. I have all his albums and went to one of his last concerts in Tampa. How could I miss that Ocala man? I am correcting my comment.

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Well good on him. As for me, it's sometimes tough to be heterodox in a largely orthodox institution.

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I have lived in several states. Here is who I would choose for them:

Illinois- OK, Chicago pretty great. I knew some of fellows in that band. BUT I would pick John Prine

Louisiana- Tony Joe White (Swamp Fox) or Clifton Chenier or Rockin' Dopsie

Georgia -Allman Brothers Band

Florida- TOM PETTY!!! Jimmy Buffet or Gloria Estafan (I lived in the same town as Backstreet Boys, too).

Wisconsin-William T. Purdy who wrote "On Wisconsin!)

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Whoa! You knew members of Chicago?! Very cool!

Your suggestions sound reasonable. The map is interesting because it reveals something interesting about the music industry. A surprising number of the bestselling artists are from long ago. I’m guessing the figures are in today’s dollars, and the presence of so many older acts suggests that most musicians make less money in these Spotify times.

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Yes, Terry Kath my era.

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He and Mark Knopfler are my two all-time favorite guitarists.

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I'm thinking Arkansas should have Glenn Campbell who was a better musician than JC.

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I grew up in GA and thought that the Allman Brothers were a GA band, but the band actually formed just over the state line in Jacksonville FL.

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Yeah, I have no idea how the mapmakers determined which musicians go with which state. Birthplace? Where the band was formed? Current home? Some examples, like Prince or the Eagles, are straightforward, but others aren't. For example, many people online pointed out that Jewel is actually from Alaska. Ah well.

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Also, forgot to note, Duane and Greg were both born in TN, in case this map is about birthplaces. In any case back in the 70s, we all considered them a band from Macon GA.

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The Big House is in Macon and Capricorn they supported Jimmy Carter so I mainly think of them as a GA band but you are right on birthplaces.

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