Nevermind The Posers

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Black No. 1” by Type O Negative – Mom loves this song and always commented on how sexy Peter Steele’s voice was (R.I.P.).  I remember mom playing this cassette in her car every morning before she’d drop me off for high school.  In October, mom blasts some Type O non-stop.
4. “I Could Have Danced All Night” by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner (from the musical My Fair Lady) – Yup, even though she’s a hard-core metal lovin’ mama, she still loves musicals.  I can’t help but to think of her when I hear this song…or any of her other favorites from Hello, Dolly! or West Side Story.
3. “Mainstreet” by Bob Seger – Any Bob Seger song really, but this song stands out.  She loves the introduction, he can really make that guitar sing.  “Roll Me Away” and “Turn the Page” also gives her chills.  I saw Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band with mom when I was younger, I remember sitting so close to stage, we were on the left side; it was awesome.

2. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica – When I hear this song, I immediately imagine mom cooking dinner and rocking out.  A smile comes to my face when she waits for and belts out the “BOOM” right after the sadistic laughing.  She can also do ‘yeeeaaaahhhh yeeeaaaahhh’ sections (aka Hetfield’s add-lib metal scats) better than anyone I know (yes, even you Giblin).  My mom rocks, literally.
1. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd – Seriously though, Lynyrd Skynyrd is her favorite band.  Every song reminds me of my mom, she’s the biggest fan I know.  Mom took my twin sister and I to plenty of concerts over the years, but Lynyrd Skynyrd was our first (we were six years old).  Whenever Van Zant or really anyone says the words “What song do you want to hear?” I know that “FREE BIRD!!!” is the next thing shouted out of her mouth.  My mom loves music, and she’s where I get my passion from.  Thanks mom for everything, and especially for teaching me how to rock.

Alex’s Top 5
5. “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey – For very personal reasons, I lose my shit when I hear this song.
4. “Dance Magic” by David Bowie– I can remember bugging out for everyone singing this song when I was a wee-lad.
3. “Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin – For some reason, this classic Janis track reminds me of mom-dukes.  Maybe it’s because it was in Look Who’s Talking and I used to watch that with her all the time.
2. “I Want You To Want Me” by Cheap Trick – Again, my mom was a huge fan of Cheap Trick.
1. ANYTHING by Meat Loaf – Mom was a huge Meat Loaf fan, so anything from “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” to “Bat Out Of Hell” to “I Would Do Anything For Love” remind me of her, but nothing more than “Objects in the Rear View Mirror.”

Klone’s Top 5
There are all sorts of reasons a song will remind you of someone, but when your mom is a talented songstress who should’ve been a huge singer, there are about a million more.  To narrow this list down to five was difficult, but this is the line-up of songs that my mom loves to sing, and sing she does…
5. “All The Jazz” by John Kender & Fred Ebb (from the Broadway show “Chicago”)
4. “At Last” by Etta James (I have a feeling my mom is going to sing this song at my wedding)
3. “Country Road” by John Denver (How I have heard this song sung karaoke style without attending West Virginia University can only be answered by my mom…)
2. “In My Life” by The Beatles (Mom loves Bette Midler, which means I grew up watching her movies, and she covered this in “For The Boys”…though, my mom always loved The Beatles.)
1. “La Vie En Rose” by Edith Piaf

Mark’s Top 5
I owe my Mom a great deal of credit for inheriting such a wide-ranging taste in music, who growing up devoured whatever songs and bands that she could from local radio stations like WNEW (when it was a hip “rebel” station).  She passed this love of great tunes to me, and so I present some of her absolute favorites to you!
5. “People are People” by Depeche Mode – My dear Mom loves this great mish-mash of Blues-rock and Electro from the great Depeche Mode, who she helped introduce me to when I was a lil’ lad.  If it wasn’t for her buying their greatest hits and lending it to me, I would have taken much too long to discover one of the most well written and composed electronic tunes to ever grace the sonic landscape.
4. “Red Skies” by The Fixx – This song reminds me of when I took my Mom to see a WPLJ- Saturday Nite at the 80’s show at the Nokia Theatre in New York for her birthday to see some of her favorite acts of the era: Missing Persons, Naked Eyes, the Knack, and of course the Fixx, who as it turned out she was itching to see since she was younger.
3. “View to a Kill” by Duran Duran – My mother’s love of the James Bond series of films was inherited by me, and through them I found yet another of my favorite 80’s tunes, which also happens to be the song my mother thinks is one of their best.
2. “Cars” by Gary Numan – What makes this song so special to me is that it was my mother who, when my interest in New Wave and 80’s began to surface, told me all about this chilly yet catchy tune.  I still hear her singing it to herself sometimes.
1. “For Your Love” by The Yardbirds – When asked about her favorite rock bands growing up, my mother references a who’s who of 60’s and 70’s hard rock bands, and she almost always name checks these English rockers.  Who knew that such a simple song would have such a generational effect.  And it is this particular tune that helps me see how great music stays alive for so long; through the sharing of music between parents and children, and in my case, Mother and Son.  Thanks Mom!

Dan’s Top 5
5. “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha – Every time I play this song in the car, she hits repeat.
4. “By The Way” by Red Hot Chili Peppers – She loves RHCP and this is one of her favorite songs.
3.  Any U2 song
2. “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. – Another song my mom loves and always requests when we’re in the car.
1. “Earthquakes and Sharks” by Brandtson