Metallica! Republicans And Democrats Agree On Something — The Metal Gods Are Awesome!
Republicans and Democrats seem unable to agree on much these days. But they do agree on one thing — Metallica is awesome!
In new data released Monday by Facebook, number-crunchers at the social media mega-site analyzed “likes” posted by thousands of Facebook users, then broke them down by the Facebookers self-stated political affiliations to get an idea of the varying tastes exhibited by members of the dueling political parties, ahead of next week’s crucial midterm elections.
When the data crunchers looked at musical tastes, they found some sharply defined differences between the two parties — but also a surprising amount of common ground.
On the opposite ends of the spectrum, The Beatles were the musical act most heavily favored by Democrats but shunned by Republicans. Perhaps not surprisingly, the GOP leaned toward country music, with country legend George Strait coming in as the favorite crooner for GOPers.
But there were a number of musical acts that fell right in the middle — that is, acts who were “liked” more or less equally often on Facebook by Democrats and Republicans.
Right square in the middle — the band that has sold about 120 million records worldwide in its 33-year career, Metallica.
Actually, Dems and Repubs seemed to share a taste for hard rock acts from the 1970s and ’80s. Aerosmith, AC/DC and Bon Jovi also all came down close to the bipartisan center of the Facebook chart.
Taylor Swift appears equally beloved by both ends of the political spectrum, as is the late, great King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley. But while Democrats groove to Michael Jackson, U2, Adele, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, Republicans prefer the down-home twang of Toby Keith, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton.
One of the few rock acts preferred by Republicans but disdained by Democrats was Ted Nugent, but that preference may have less to do with the Motor City Madman’s music and more to do with his extreme, conservative public statements.
The Facebook study also covered areas of preference other than music. For example, when it comes to tourist destinations, you’re more likely to find Republicans at two famous homes: Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington, and Graceland, home of Elvis Presley.
But if you’re looking to find a Democrat, head straight to New York City’s Empire State Building, the number one landmark “liked” on Facebook by Dems.
Planning a bipartisan vacation? Head for the Jersey Shore — or Costa Rica. Both were neck and neck among members of both political parties.
But TV viewing was perhaps the one area with the broadest range of agreement between Republicans and Democrats. The Big Bang Theory, American Idol, The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy — those and many others were “liked” with similar frequency by Republicans and Democrats alike.
The biggest differences in TV habits came in areas that were pretty much expected. Democrats not only liked, but loved The Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Republicans were highly partial to Duck Dynasty.
