Mapping Music

Maps are generally thought to be pictures of geographic places or routes and directions to locations. This is true, but maps can also be used for us to identify with things we enjoy on a daily basis. For instance, the music we listen to can be traced on a map of a state, a country or even the entire world. We all listen to music, but we probably don't think about what the route to the origins of our favorite music would look like.
I enjoy a lot of different genres of music. If someone was to listen to my ipod, they would find themselves listening to country one minute, and then hip hop the next. I also have classic rock and pop in the mix. In order for me to map some of my music, I took a few of my favorite artists/bands and found their origins, along with where some of their songs came from. I really enjoy Creedence Clearwater Revival, and to my surprise, they originated in the San Francisco Bay area. I always thought they were from the south, especially with a song such as "Born on the bayou." The song "Green River" is about a river in Kentucky, so even though they are a band formed on the western coast, their lyrics reflect and focus on the south for the most part. I decided to focus more on the songs at this point in order to get a centralized location, so my first point on a map would be the southern United States.
Country music also centralizes in the south, with songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." Country songs of course reference Texas, with a couple songs I can think of like, "God Bless Texas" and "All My Ex's Live In Texas." Creedence and Country music are centralized in the south, so my map didn't change much. My next favorite music to listen to however, took me to another part of the world. I landed in Liverpool, England. That's right, The Beatles. Songs like "Abbey Road" and "Penny Lane" are actual locations in England. In doing this exercise, I found that geography influences all kinds of maps, not just physical feature maps or driving directions. If I were to follow some of my favorite music based on songs written and origins, I'm pretty sure I would be going on quite the adventure!

Map of The Beatles origin

Map of Centralized Creedence and Country music



Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles
www.Google.com/ Images