It’s one of today’s most pressing questions, dealbreakers, and tastemakers: What is your position on Nickelback? I personally don’t know anyone who likes Nickelback, but that might be because according to a super-informative new infographic from AccuRadio, I live in a state that ranks as one of the most Nickelback-hating states in America. Today is a greater day than it was when we all woke up because now we know which states are the real flyover states and which ones might lead us to like-minded people. Also, maybe something about a presidential election, but hey — one polarizing thing at a time here.
According to Kyle Olson, senior content manager for Accuradio, the data used to make the infographic was compiled thusly:
“The data was compiled using listening data from AccuRadio.com. We used the playshare data across all AccuRadio channels that have a Nickelback song featured on that channel. So basically, all the Nickelback plays through AccuRadio had geo-specific data attached to each listen and we assigned the geo-specific data to the map.”
Going by the map provided, the most virulent hate for Nickelback exists in the Northeast, tapering off through Pennsylvania before re-intensifying in Maryland. Delaware remains neutral on the issue, maybe because by the time you drive across it on I-95, there wasn’t enough time to hear even one Nickelback song. Bless them, for they have been spared. Nickelback hate is not exclusively a regional phenomena however, as it shows up sporadically throughout the U.S. in Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas, and Hawaii, where I assumed it was way too pleasant to hate anything. But Hawaii hates Nickelback, hard. I’ll bet the Hawaiian word for “Nickelback” is “Ni k’l WHACK.”
The neutral states are also pretty sporadic, with the way-too-cool California staying out of this one along with the demographically inconsistent New Mexico. Adorably enough, Oklahoma is “OK” with Nickelback and ranked as a neutral state, as did a handful of states in the Southeast. And Maine, which lists its Nickelback preferences as “Meh.”
So, where do people actually like, or even love Nickelback? If you’re guessing “nowhere,” you’d be wrong. As it turns out, a large portion of the West and South have positive to super-positive feelings for Nickelback. Alaska also ranks high on the Nickelback love scale, along with Washington, Nevada, Missouri, and West Virginia. So, everything you thought about those states is probably true.
Then there’s the Northeasten abomination of a state, New Jersey, which is the ninth-highest Nickelback-loving state in the country. Wow. Even while being surrounded by so many enlightened Nickelback-hating states. That’s pretty disgusting, New Jersey, even for New Jersey. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you probably are already. And no, The Boss can’t save you from this one.
Where does your state rank, and how many of your friends will you be ditching? View the entire infographic on AccuRadio to safely plan your next road trip.
Source: AccuRadio
