Nevermind The Posers

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Technologic” by Daft Punk
4. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister
3. “Smells Like Funk” by Black Eyed Peas – Love it!  “Cause nobody’s funky as us, Cause we keep it stinky.”  It’s got a great beat and makes me dance.
2. “Jumpin Jumpin” by Destiny’s Child – For the ladies!   Haha, love hearing when going out for a night on the town.
1. “Ruby” by Kaiser Chiefs – I’m addicted to this song!  I could repeat it over and over for the pure joy of hearing it, and it’s so simple!  It just works in the ears of Tina.

Honorable Mentions: “Gives You Hell” by All American Rejects and “Sugar Mountain” by Neil Young

Dan’s Top 5
5. “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha – Besides being a guilty pleasure, TiK ToK always gives my mood an instant upgrade.
4. “Telephone” by Lady GaGa featuring Beyonce
3. “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior
2. “In My Arms” by Kylie Minogue – Synth-y 80s pop beats and Kylie’s sugar-coated vocals always bring a smile to my face.
1. “Dance in My Blood” by Men Women & Children – With a hook like, “You don’t need a reason to get out on the dance floor. We can get it on and on all night long,” this song always puts me in a great mood no matter how I’m feeling.  With a crazy, dancey, upbeat sound and shouting-but-not-screaming vocals, this song is like a four-minute long party.

Honorable Mentions: Every other Men Women & Children song, “Beating Heart Baby” by Head Automatica, “Hot Mess” by Cobra Starship, “Konichiwa Bitches” by Robyn

Klone’s Top 5
5. “Shambala” by Three Dog Night
4. “Hero of the Day” by Metallica
3. “Cherub Rock” by Smashing Pumpkins
2. “Who’s Going Home With You Tonight?” by Trapt
1. “Can’t Be Saved” by Senses Fail

Stigz’s Top 5
5. “Halcyon and On” by Orbital – Just a deep, chill groove to turn the volume of life down.
4. “Beer” by Reel Big Fish – Any upbeat nu-ska track about beer will make me feel better.
3. “Get Up Offa That Thing” by James Brown – James Brown could have ended wars with his funk.  Period.  lol
2. “Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity)” by Incubus – Something about the riff and lyrics to this song put me on cloud nine.
1. “Music is the Answer” by Danny Tenaglia ft. Celeda – If you know the lyrics, you know this track will make a catatonic smile.

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Seeing Red” by Killing Joke – The crunching guitars gliding over a Dave Grohl tribal beat…music can’t get much better than this.  Best when cruising on the highway.
4. “Dreamer” by Livin’ Joy – An old school 90s dance song that gets me moving every single time.  You might even catch me singing along when it comes on the radio.
3. “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit – Such a sugary and infectiously danceable new wavey tune that is so loveable, I play it every week during my sets.
2. “Hungry For You” by the Police – Sting sings in French, resulting in me happily rocking out my air guitar skills.
1. “Soluble Words” by ON – One of the grooviest electro-rock songs that inspires you to chill…then rock hard.  Guilty.

Angela’s Top 5
5. “Find Your Love” by Drake –  I dig singing along and groovin’ to it.
4. “Beamer, Benz or Bentley” by Lloyd Banks – I listen to most music in the car, so when this comes on, it instantly gets cranked and I start ridin’ all cool like.
3. “Lil Freak” by Usher – It comes on and I get down, what can I say?
2. “Airplanes Pt 2” by B.o.B ft. Haley Williams and Eminem – I prefer the second part with Eminem on the track and think Haley’s vocals are gorgeous.  Every time it comes on I smile and sing my heart out.
1. “Can’t Be Tamed” by Miley Cyrus -Yes, I know it’s Miley Cyrus, but I feel all sexy and fierce when it comes on and I like to go out and dance to it and indulge.

No holding back, no shame!  This week we asked a few of our writers what songs are played the most through their iTunes and here are the results:

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Good Day” by Jukebox the Ghost
4. “Camera Talk” by Local Natives
3. “Airplanes” by Local Natives
2. “David” by Honey Honey
1. “Movie Loves A Screen” by April Smith and The Great Picture Show

Daniel Edward’s Top 5
5. “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado
4. “Dance In My Blood” by Men Women & Children
3. “The Name of the Train is the Hurricane” by Men Women & Children
2. “The Church of Hot Addiction” by Cobra Starship
1. “In My Arms” by Kylie Minogue

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Soluble Words” by Ken Andrews
4. “Keep Me In Your Pocket” by Charlotte Martin
3. “In A Big Country” by Big Country
2. “Little Secrets” by Passion Pit
1. “Flaming June” by BT

Memorial Day weekend means summer is around the corner, which also means hearing some of your favorite cover songs!  NVMP presents our Top 5 Cover Songs this week.  Good luck crawling out of your hangover and getting back to your work week.

A cover here and there are okay, but let's keep it to a minimum and work on developing something original. Cool?

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Suffragette City” (originally David Bowie) by The Get Up Kids
4. “Scarlet Begonias” (originally The Grateful Dead) by Sublime – Its made my list before, but what can I say?  It’s a great cover…that’s not a full cover at all, but a decked out Sublime style cover still rocks.
3. “Mama Said Knock You Out” (originally LL Cool J) by Lagwagon – It was on a mixed tape from middle school.  I love me some punk covers!
2. “Crimson and Clover” (originally Tommy James and the Shondells) by Joan Jett – I’ll fight you to the death on this one, I like her version better.  End of story.
1. “Drive Me Crazy” (originally Britney Spears) by Sugarcoma – Oh Sugarcoma, thank you for taking a terrible song and making it better.  All it needed was a driving guitar and some heavy drums while screaming the chorus.  Sorry Spears, your version drives me crazy in a bad way, this version is better.  (I don’t think this UK band is still together, but I suggest checking out the album Becoming Something Else.)

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Enjoy the Silence” by Failure – One of the finest covers of a Depeche Mode song ever, reworked and molded into a creepy, distorted space rock journey, led by Ken Andrew’s distinct gruff vocals, here peppered with odd  pronunciations.  It’s a track that wouldn’t be out-of-place on a soundtrack to a David Lynch or David Fincher flick.
4. “Cars” by Fear Factory – Lead singer Burton C. Bell had name checked Gary Numan as an influence on his music, so it comes as no surprise that his band would eventually cover the 1979 original, giving it a FF make over with crunchy rhythmic guitars layered over crisp drumming and digital bleeps, while still  managing to stay true to the original song.
3. “Barbie Girl” by MxPx – A staple of my DJ sets, it is a quick, pointless, and funny as fuck cover of Aqua’s sugary pseudo-sexual original.  It always gets a laugh, while still managing to sound really cool and get people moving.
2. “Angel” by Charlotte Martin – What once was a slow-paced trip-hop jam, with middle-eastern feeling vocals, becomes a beat heavy, mid-tempo track that you could actually dance or mellow out to, courtesy the re-arrangement by good ol’ CharMar.
1. “Moonlight Sonata” by Depeche Mode – Although credited to DM as a B-side, the real star of this tune is Alan Wilder.  He performed this one-off cover of Beethoven’s masterpiece as a way to kill some time in between sessions.  It’s a bit abbreviated and sped up, but still an amazing cover that somehow manages to maintain the intended vibe of Beethoven, while at the same time keeping in line with the sonic themes of DM’s music.

Dan’s Top 5
5. “What You Waiting For?” (originally Gwen Stefani) by Franz Ferdinand
4. “It’s My Life” (originally Talk Talk) by No Doubt
3. “Make You Feel My Love” (originally Bob Dylan) by ADELE
2. “Bitches Ain’t Shit” (originally Dr. Dre) by Ben Folds Five
1. “All Along the Watchtower” (originally Bob Dylan) by Jimi Hendrix

Klone’s Top 5
Covers are a staple of the music world, and for those of us fans who are also musicians, part of what helped us learn to play.  Here are the ones I’ve grown to love as my Top 5, plus a slew of honorable mentions.  “The greatest flattery is imitation.”
5. “A Little Respect” – originally by Erasure, Cover by in.spite.of
4. “Cinnamon Girl” – originally by Neil Young, Cover by Type O Negative
3. “All Along The Watchtower” – originally by Bob Dylan, Cover by BT & Bear McCreary (BSG Season 3 Soundtrack)
2. “I Love You Always Forever” – originally by Donna Lewis, Cover by Jukebox The Ghost (performed on 5/29/2010)
1. “Whiskey In The Jar” – originally by Thin Lizzy, Cover by Metallica

Honorable Mentions: Metallica – “Breadfan” – originally by: Budgie, “Stone Cold Crazy” – originally by: Queen, “Astronomy” – originally by: Blue Oyster Cult
Guns N’ Roses – “Hair Of The Dog” – originally by: Nazareth, “Mama Kin” – originally by: Aerosmith, Sublime – “Scarlet Begonias” – originally by: The Grateful Dead, Lou Reed – “This Magic Moment” – originally by: The Drifters, Blue Man Group – “White Rabbit” – originally by: Jefferson Airplane, “Baba O’Reilly” – originally by: The Who, Alien Ant Farm – “Smooth Criminal” – originally by: Michael Jackson,Gus – “Don’t Fear The Reaper” – originally by: Blue Oyster Cult, Paradise Lost – “How Soon Is Now?” – originally by: The Smiths

Stigz’s Top 5
5. “Turn The Page” by Metallica (Originally Performed by Bob Seger) – They lost me after Load and only slightly won me back with their cover album, which this is on.  However, this take on the Bob Seger track kicks some serious ass.  The whole Napster debacle is another story…
4. “Anyway You Want It” by Rise Against (Originally Performed by Journey) – Despite it being a classic jam in true Journey fashion, Tim McGrath owns this cover and injects it with his own flavor.
3. “I’m Your Boogieman” by White Zombie (Originally Performed by KC and the Sunshine Band) – I know, I was stunned when I heard it to, but any 70s revisit by a Zombie, whether its solo Rob or White, is rocking nonetheless.
2. “No Ordinary Love” by Deftones (Originally Performed by Sade) – Chino’s haunting voice brings an entirely new element to this song.  It was sexy when she sang it, and even more haunting when the Deftones lay down this track.
1. “All Along The Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix(Originally Performed by Bob Dylan) – Jimi…Dylan…That’s all I have to say.

Note: I do a segment on my show every Friday on 89.5 FM WSOU from 4pm-8pm where I play all kinds of covers, so this was extremely hard to narrow down.  I also didn’t want to punk out and pick tracks from cover albums like Punk Goes Crunk and Punk Goes Pop : toooo easy.

Don't be ashamed, listen to what you like!

TNT’s Top 5
5. “Soul Sister” by Train – This song was released some time in August 2009 and I still can’t get enough of it.  I love how I can surf through the radio and find it playing somewhere.
4. “Apeman” by The Kinks – Guilty pleasure all the way!  The lyrics are great!   “But with the over-population and inflation and starvation and the crazy politicians/I don’t feel safe in this world no more/I don’t want to die in a nuclear war/I want to sail away to a distant shore/and make like an ape man/ Oh, I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man….”  If you haven’t heard it, you need to check it out here.
3. “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones – Secretly, you know this song made your list too.
2. “Crash and Burn” by Savage Garden – Oh yeah, Savage Garden.  I was a huge fan of them; such a shame that they only had two albums.  KimKimma made/makes fun of my all the time for this one.
1. “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners – I can never get enough of this song!  While listening, this song should be repeated at least three times, minimum.  I recommend it on road-trips and while drinking…not together of course.  Gotta love one hit wonders.

Angela’s Top 5
Oh Top 5 guilty pleasures…fml for having to admit this…
5. “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson
4. “Imma Be” by Black Eyed Peas
3. “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum
2. “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift
1. “Your Love is My Drug” by Ke$ha – That one hurt a little.

Stigz’s Top 5
5. Cheesy Sci Fi Movies – Yes yes yes.  I am guilty of watching those cheesy, class B, sci-fi movies which are based on giant animals (whatever they may be) attacking…its funny, and always on at 3AM when you still have a buzz going.
4. The Occasional Romantic-Comedy – Again, I’ll put my man card down and admit that I indulge in a rom-com from time to time.
IE: The Ugly Truth or He’s Just Not That Into You
3. That 70’s Show – Despite it being on Teen Nick constantly, I can’t get enough.
2. Chai Lattes – At the cost of ridicule, I LOVE chai lattes.  And yes, this is coming from a guy that drinks four-shot espresso’s like water.
1. Cheesy Action Movies – Van Damme or Seagal – nothing makes me happier than a retarded action movie by one of these two.  No originality and a plot that always involves gratuitous sex and/or blatant violence.  Satisfaction on every level of testosterone.

Klone’s Top 5
I think that the category “Guilty Pleasures” says enough without having to explain why we like each track.  They are songs we enjoy and feel guilty about it because, according to the rest of our rather cultured musical tastes, these are tracks we should ultimately not like.
5. “Take Me Home Tonight” by Eddie Money
4. “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John
3. “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by Mama Cass Elliot (Yeah, LOSTIES!!)
2. “Africa” by Toto
1. “I Want You” by Savage Garden

Mark’s Top 5
5. “Scooby Snacks” by Fun Lovin’ Criminals – One of the ultimate stoner songs, and what’s not to like?  It has a low-key delivered flow, laid over a solid live hip-hop groove and lyrics that feature the song’s subjects robbing banks and getting high (check it out here).  What makes this such a guilty pleasure for me is the fact that I know nothing else by them, and have never had the urge to seek out any other tracks.  Oh well.
4. “Eyes Without A Face” by Billy Idol – Billy Idol kicks ass.  So much so, that even when he goes from “rock screams” to “Dean Martin crooning” (by way of 80’s and New Wave), the result is still oddly likable and quite danceable.
3. “Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo –  I know this song makes a lot of people’s “guilty pleasures” list and it’s easy to understand why.  It is annoyingly catchy with its popping bass-lines accenting the synth harpsichord choruses, which are latched on to and trampled by cheesy synth drums (which were probably borrowed from Duran Duran).
2. “C’mon N’ Ride It (The Train)” by Quad City DJ’s –  I mentioned this psychotically danceable tune in my last Top 5, and I give it a well deserved encore in this weeks listings for one blistering reason: for some reason, when I hear “Woo Woo” and “Choo Choo” I always make the whistle pulling motion.  That’s right folks, I am a pure, unadulterated ass.
1. “The Sweetest Thing” by U2 – I am not much of a U2 fan, both musically and personally.  However, I have to give it to Bono and Co. for coming up with one of the most sugary, sappy, and downright instant lovable pop tune that they have ever laid to track.  And to think, it started life as a throw away B-side on their single for “Where the Streets Have No Name” and became a hit by way of re-release on their Best Of 1980-1990 compilation.  I guess pure sugar really has no expiration.

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