Where Music Lives

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Q: Where does Cat Stevens live, London or Indianapolis?
Q: Where were The Beatles from, Liverpool or Columbus?

The real answers are London and Liverpool, of course - but the musical answers are Indianapolis and Columbus. Take a look at this map:

Musically, The Beatles were heavily influenced by the sounds of Motown and Nashville. Cat Stevens shared the Motown pop/rock sensibility, but leaned more toward Memphis soul than Nashville twang. So Columbus and Indianapolis are halfway points.

The map shows the styles/sounds that have dominated music for the last 50-60 years (no offense, Miami - I feel your pain, Denver). It's a fun game to pick out the stylistic influences when you're listening to a song - especially for artists hailing from outside the U.S..

It's not quite that simple, of course. Everything is connected to everything, and great artists have many influences, plus their own creative spark that makes them unique.

But it's a fun game. Try it!