motorcycle helmets and southern rock

As we drove across New Mexico on our way to Lexington, I noticed a few bikers on the freeway riding without helmets. And since we've been in Lexington, we've seen many people riding motorcycles without helmets. Maybe I've just spent too much of my life in California, but this was quite a surprise to me. First, it seems really dumb to go 65 mph on a motorcycle with nothing protecting your head, and second, I didn't really consider that New Mexico and Kentucky wouldn't have laws requiring all motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets. I knew that motorcycle helmet laws are fairly modern, but I kind of assumed it caught on nationwide like seat belt laws or raising the drinking age to 21. Can you guess how many states require all motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets? Here's a map with the answer.

I also noticed that there's a heavy dose of Creedence Clearwater Revival (and Phil Collins for some reason) on Lexington radio stations. Lauren and I were talking about how that makes sense because CCR is a southern band, right? We couldn't remember exactly where they were from. Louisiana, or maybe Tennessee? So we looked it up when we got home today and it turns out that John Fogerty was not born anywhere near the Bayou but very close to the Bay.

Nevertheless, the South has produced many great bands, including:

Ben Folds Five (Chapel Hill, NC)
Big Star (Memphis, TN)
Elf Power (Athens, GA)
The Flaming Lips (Oklahoma City, OK)
Iron & Wine (Miami, FL/Columbia, SC)
My Morning Jacket (Louisville, KY)
Neutral Milk Hotel (Ruston, LA)
The Olivia Tremor Control (Athens, GA)
Of Montreal (Athens, GA)
Okkervil River (Austin, TX)
R.E.M. (Athens, GA)
Spoon (Austin, TX)
Tripping Daisy (Dallas, TX)