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Music and Metallica Fans -- Dumb or Smart?

Someone I work with and occasionally exchange emails with about music, sent me this great story. He said it might have some blog material. And he was right.

It was from a website called MLive.com and it had to do with the kind of music you listen to and your IQ.

I wasn’t surprised that it stated country music and hip-hop fans were at the bottom of the list.

I’m guessing heavy metal fans aren’t too far behind (at this point I should note: no offense to anyone reading that may be a fan of these genres; my favorite group, The Doors, shows their fans rank on the low end of the classic rock scale).

But you could just look at news stories to see these stats being true. Take Metallica. I just heard on CNN that a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student disappeared after attending a concert. Be on the look-out for a cute blonde in a Pantera T-shirt and black mini skirt, with knee high boots.

There was a cop in Massachusetts back in April at a Metallica show. He got thrown out for urinating on fans (and tried to get back in by showing his badge). He was fined $2,500 and had to take alcohol counseling. I’m hoping he’s not still on the force. I also wonder about someone he pulls over getting out of line. Does he threaten to pull out his mace or pull out his….

I remember hearing about a fan that fell to their death at a Metallica concert years ago.

Just imagine what kinds of stories I could find if I picked a country or hip-hop group.

The funny thing about this story is they talk so much about Radiohead, a band that’s good, but doesn’t deserve the hype the critics bestow upon them. The photo of singer Thom Yorke, looks like a person on stage with Downs Syndrome.

The study looked an internet data bases, ipod selections, SAT scores…all in a very unscientific (but fun) way. They got the favorite bands of students at over 1,300 colleges, and looked at SAT scores.

Classic-rock fans seemed to straddle both sides, with Aerosmith, The Doors, and Queen at the low end (dang it! I love Queen, too).

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Elton John are near the smart end of the scale (but really, who doesn’t like those bands?).

The dumbest thing about this is the speculation that the music could “muck up a students test taking abilities” or destroy brain cells.

I’ve always said dumb people like dumb movies. And they speculate that dumb people like dumb music. As funny as that is…I have to think if you grew up in some place like Texas, and were exposed to country music at an early age, it’s the genre you are probably going to like as an adult – high IQ or not.

And why the surprise that lyric driven stuff has higher IQ fans then the beat driven tunes? Some fans are going to want to dissect and appreciate interesting word play. The other fans want to get on a dance floor and grind (in my best Seinfeld voice: Not that there’s anything wrong with that)

I wonder what Josh Groban and Ludacris will think when they see their fans fall in the dumb category.

A few of the artists that fall into the various categories:

Dumb groups: Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Brad Paisley, Eminem, Foo Fighters, and Nickelback.

Smart groups: U2, Beethoven (well, duh), Dylan, Beatles, Grateful Dead (huh?!), Bowie, and Hendrix.

C students: AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and two that anyone (even the fans on the dumb list) probably could’ve guessed – The Eagles and Journey.

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Someone I work with and occasionally exchange emails with about music, sent me this great story. He said it might have some blog material. And he was right.

It was from a website called MLive.com and it had to do with the kind of music you listen to and your IQ.

I wasn’t surprised that it stated country music and hip-hop fans were at the bottom of the list.

I’m guessing heavy metal fans aren’t too far behind (at this point I should note: no offense to anyone reading that may be a fan of these genres; my favorite group, The Doors, shows their fans rank on the low end of the classic rock scale).

But you could just look at news stories to see these stats being true. Take Metallica. I just heard on CNN that a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student disappeared after attending a concert. Be on the look-out for a cute blonde in a Pantera T-shirt and black mini skirt, with knee high boots.

There was a cop in Massachusetts back in April at a Metallica show. He got thrown out for urinating on fans (and tried to get back in by showing his badge). He was fined $2,500 and had to take alcohol counseling. I’m hoping he’s not still on the force. I also wonder about someone he pulls over getting out of line. Does he threaten to pull out his mace or pull out his….

I remember hearing about a fan that fell to their death at a Metallica concert years ago.

Just imagine what kinds of stories I could find if I picked a country or hip-hop group.

The funny thing about this story is they talk so much about Radiohead, a band that’s good, but doesn’t deserve the hype the critics bestow upon them. The photo of singer Thom Yorke, looks like a person on stage with Downs Syndrome.

The study looked an internet data bases, ipod selections, SAT scores…all in a very unscientific (but fun) way. They got the favorite bands of students at over 1,300 colleges, and looked at SAT scores.

Classic-rock fans seemed to straddle both sides, with Aerosmith, The Doors, and Queen at the low end (dang it! I love Queen, too).

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Elton John are near the smart end of the scale (but really, who doesn’t like those bands?).

The dumbest thing about this is the speculation that the music could “muck up a students test taking abilities” or destroy brain cells.

I’ve always said dumb people like dumb movies. And they speculate that dumb people like dumb music. As funny as that is…I have to think if you grew up in some place like Texas, and were exposed to country music at an early age, it’s the genre you are probably going to like as an adult – high IQ or not.

And why the surprise that lyric driven stuff has higher IQ fans then the beat driven tunes? Some fans are going to want to dissect and appreciate interesting word play. The other fans want to get on a dance floor and grind (in my best Seinfeld voice: Not that there’s anything wrong with that)

I wonder what Josh Groban and Ludacris will think when they see their fans fall in the dumb category.

A few of the artists that fall into the various categories:

Dumb groups: Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Brad Paisley, Eminem, Foo Fighters, and Nickelback.

Smart groups: U2, Beethoven (well, duh), Dylan, Beatles, Grateful Dead (huh?!), Bowie, and Hendrix.

C students: AC/DC, Pearl Jam, and two that anyone (even the fans on the dumb list) probably could’ve guessed – The Eagles and Journey.

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