What Are You Listening To?

"I'm going to think back to this summer and dance..."

By Maura Hehir, Colette McIntyre, and Danielle Gibson

Silvia, 36

What were you just listening to?
Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams."

Listen: Marilyn Manson - "Sweet Dreams"

MP3

What do you usually listen to?
Almost everything. I go from dark music, like Depeche Mode and Marilyn Manson, to Johnny Cash, which is totally different. I like pretty much everything, except like — well, I love Madonna, but the old Madonna. I can't stand Lady Gaga. What else? Radiohead is one of my favorite bands ever. 

Did you go to Wall Street to try to see them?
No, I didn't. But actually, I'm from Florence, Italy, and they came to Florence a long time ago. And a friend of mine helped them find an apartment. One of the guys in Radiohead is married to a girl from Florence, and my friend knows her. I didn't meet them, unfortunately. But I know they'll be back in New York.

If you were going to make a mixtape for someone that you were interested in, who would you put on it? 
I would say — I know this is weird — but I would say The Cure. The Cure is one of my favorite bands ever. I saw them in New York, maybe like, three years ago? It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. 

That's not so weird. I bet "Love Song" has been on a lot of mixtapes.
Exactly. I love the old Cure. 

What's some of your guilty-pleasure music? 
Let me think about it. 

What was the last song that made you cry? 
There's a song by Christina Aguilera...

Maybe that's your guilty pleasure.
That's my guilty pleasure, exactly! I usually don't listen to her, but there is a song I love called "You Lost Me." I lost a past boyfriend, so that was the song.

Do you listen to any Italian music?
I don't really, although my father was a musician for a long time, and I used to work in music. I used to sing. I have my song on my iPod, so that's Italian music. Actually, there's a band called Subsonica, who aren't famous at all here, but they're really good. The thing about Italian music now is that Italian musicians want to sound like American musicians, because it's cool to be like an American.

Listen: Subsonica - "Ancora Ad Odiare"

MP3