For some reason, 12-year-old Mother Mother songs have become TikTok sensations

One of the mysteries of TikTok has to do why certain songs catch fire on the platform. The biggest meme of the last month involves the cranberry juice-drinking dude and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” It was so big that the band’s Rumours album returned to the top 10 of the Billboard album charts for the first time in 42 years.

And they’re hardly alone. Simple Plan’s 2002 track “I’m Just a Kid” has been insanely popular this year. Matthew Wilder’s 1983 hit “Break My Stride” blew up. And now Mother Mother has been sucked onto the platform thanks to not one, not two, but three songs from a 12-year-old album.

There’s no meme or dance challenge behind the newfound popularity of “Hayloft,” “Wrecking Ball,” and “Arms Tonite,” which are all from their 2008 album, O My Heart. Most of the videos feature some kind of cosplay, Goth fashions, or–and this is interesting–discussions of gender confusion and people who identify as non-binary. None of those things have any direct or obvious connection to the band.

Yet #mothermother has been viewed 56 million times. “Hayloft” is now averaging one million weekly streams thanks to clips like this.

@sakurasushi0601

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♬ Hayloft – Mother Mother

And there are a lot more here. The mystery that is TikTok. Wild. More at Rolling Stone.