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How well does music predict your politics?

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Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#31

Post by cletus »

There are lots of things that predict your politics to varying degrees: age, gender, sexual orientation, whether you have children, education, income, job, where you live, to name a few. These can be used together to fairly accurately predict at least whether you lean left or lean right.

In any given election in the US you have about 40% of the general population who votes Democrat always, 40% who vote Republican always and 20% who decide the election results. Even the massive landslides of Reagan in 84 and Nixon in 72 didn't go more than about 60-40.

Politics on a mass scale is so predictable that maps are produced of political leanings that are used for redistricting.

A lot of these same factors can be used to predict music tastes. Age and where you grew up are probably the two biggest. So don't make the mistake that many in the press often do and mistake this for causation for correlation. Correlation isn't surprising given the common factors.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#32

Post by binxbolling »

mindcrime wrote: post #6

Metal fans could save us all from a two-party system. Hmm... I'm a huge metal fan myself, and very much an anarcho-capitalist / libertarian / voluntaryist / $whatever_term_you_prefer. But, to be honest, I haven't really noticed much correlation between a preference for metal, and 3rd party political affiliation, at least among my metal loving friends. If anything, I'd say that metalheads perhaps run towards "politica…

RTFA. Their conclusion was not that metal fans have a preference for 3rd party affiliation.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#33

Post by epmatsw »

DanielStraight wrote: post #8
bambax wrote: post #4

> Artists whose fans are most correlated to Republican > Artists whose fans are most correlated to Democrat I'm French. I have never heard of the first eight artists listed as Republican friendly; I know and am familiar with most artists in the Democrat list (all but two). Do "Republican artists" target something very American that doesn't appeal to an international audience?

All those artists are part of a genre we in America call "country music". It is basically the modern, more pop-like evolution of the music of artists like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams (senior), and Willie Nelson. And if you haven't heard of those artists, you should check them out. If you're interested, the best modern country artist (in my opinion at least) is someone not appearing on the list: Brad Paisl…

Brad Paisley is a great recommendation. I'd also recommend George Strait (#2 on this list).

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#34

Post by brianwhitman »

jbooth wrote: post #24
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #21

I usually don't like stories along the lines of "scientists correlate brain size with political party" but I liked this one. I'm just not sure there's anything meaningful here. Most folks in the states know that Democrats are by and large young, city folks. Republicans are older people who live in rural areas (fly-over country). So it's not very surprising that Republicans like country music and Democrats like younge…

Seriously, Pink Floyd? Maybe it's a case of age outweighing the lyrical content and the overall cultural bent of the music? I'd have accepted the beatles-ish even split, since everyone likes Pink Floyd and the Beatles even though both are very counter-culture. But leaning Republican is just plain weird for the band that made "Us and Them", "Another brick in the wall", "Have a cigar", etc.

I was very upset when I saw that result but a good scientist never shows his bias :(

I do really think that once we get better at "artist evolvement" (separating Pink Floyd into two or three separate artists as they had very distinct phases) the PF signifier will drop. I only listen to Syd and "It Would Be So Nice" era PF and definitely am not a Romney booster.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#35

Post by jbooth »

brianwhitman wrote: post #34
jbooth wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, Pink Floyd? Maybe it's a case of age outweighing the lyrical content and the overall cultural bent of the music? I'd have accepted the beatles-ish even split, since everyone likes Pink Floyd and the Beatles even though both are very counter-culture. But leaning Republican is just plain weird for the band that made "Us and Them", "Another brick in the wall", "Have a cigar", etc.

I was very upset when I saw that result but a good scientist never shows his bias :( I do really think that once we get better at "artist evolvement" (separating Pink Floyd into two or three separate artists as they had very distinct phases) the PF signifier will drop. I only listen to Syd and "It Would Be So Nice" era PF and definitely am not a Romney booster.

Even if you divide it, what do you get, the relativist, existentialist, anti-war and anti-corporate mainstream era contrasted with the full-on acid freak hippie Syd era? Both seem pretty culturally liberal to me.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#36

Post by jere »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #30
jere wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, but there does seem to be a correlation there. And if you disagree, then ask yourself how many Republicans would be vote for a gay, atheist, or Muslim president. Bill Maher put it best: >Let me defend myself. I would never say and I have never said, because it’s not true that Republicans, all Republicans are racists. That would be silly and wrong. But nowadays, if you are racist, you’re probably a R…

Those words could only be spoken by someone who doesn't get out much.

Is that right? Here are some recent polls from Alabama/Mississipi in which 52% of Republicans believe Obama is secretly Muslim and 29% believe interracial marriage should be illegal.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/12/news/la-pn-poll-obam...

You're suggesting... what? Democrats have equal hatred for non-whites and non-christians??

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#37

Post by waterlesscloud »

brianwhitman wrote: post #34
jbooth wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, Pink Floyd? Maybe it's a case of age outweighing the lyrical content and the overall cultural bent of the music? I'd have accepted the beatles-ish even split, since everyone likes Pink Floyd and the Beatles even though both are very counter-culture. But leaning Republican is just plain weird for the band that made "Us and Them", "Another brick in the wall", "Have a cigar", etc.

I was very upset when I saw that result but a good scientist never shows his bias :( I do really think that once we get better at "artist evolvement" (separating Pink Floyd into two or three separate artists as they had very distinct phases) the PF signifier will drop. I only listen to Syd and "It Would Be So Nice" era PF and definitely am not a Romney booster.

Everybody becomes The Man over time. The CEOs of today were getting stoned in their dorm rooms in the 70s and 80s.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#38

Post by gyardley »

jbooth wrote: post #24
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #21

I usually don't like stories along the lines of "scientists correlate brain size with political party" but I liked this one. I'm just not sure there's anything meaningful here. Most folks in the states know that Democrats are by and large young, city folks. Republicans are older people who live in rural areas (fly-over country). So it's not very surprising that Republicans like country music and Democrats like younge…

Seriously, Pink Floyd? Maybe it's a case of age outweighing the lyrical content and the overall cultural bent of the music? I'd have accepted the beatles-ish even split, since everyone likes Pink Floyd and the Beatles even though both are very counter-culture. But leaning Republican is just plain weird for the band that made "Us and Them", "Another brick in the wall", "Have a cigar", etc.

I don't know - distrust of and feelings of alienation from elites are pretty common conservative themes. I'm both conservative and a big Pink Floyd fan, and never felt that that was weird.

Of course, any band with enough albums is likely to have both conservative and liberal-leaning songs. Even the Beatles - a song like 'Taxman' isn't exactly liberal.

Re: How well does music predict your politics?

#40

Post by gyardley »

jere wrote: post #36
waterlesscloud wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those words could only be spoken by someone who doesn't get out much.

Is that right? Here are some recent polls from Alabama/Mississipi in which 52% of Republicans believe Obama is secretly Muslim and 29% believe interracial marriage should be illegal. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/12/news/la-pn-poll-obam... You're suggesting... what? Democrats have equal hatred for non-whites and non-christians??

He's probably suggesting that there are many types of bigotry and no one political party has a lock on them.

Yes, in America if you're bigoted against blacks, you probably vote Republican. If you're bigoted against whites, you probably vote Democratic. If you're bigoted against Muslims, you probably vote Republican. If you're bigoted against all religious people, well, you probably vote Democratic.

It's probably a function of the area I live in, but every antisemite I've run into in the past few years has seemed very left-wing. (I say 'seemed' because I like to keep a healthy distance from antisemites. I'm only going by shouting and signage.)

While we're on the topic, the political leanings of bigots are fluid. A generation or two ago, if you were bigoted against blacks, you probably voted Democratic.

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