Ear Worm

I don't know about you, but I have always been highly susceptible to the ear worm phenomenon.  No, not the Wrath of Khan kind of ear worm, the musical kind.  It doesn't matter whether I initially love or hate a song, I will eventually be begging for it to PLEASE! STOP! REPEATING! because once I learn even a fraction of the words along with the tune, any given song can go into continual loop in my head.

The '80's were particularly hard on me.  It's like most of the music from that era was actually written in ear worm format.  "Oh, Micky" almost killed me (and, just for the record, I started out hating that one).  "Karma Chameleon".  Please.

The '90's weren't so bad.  First of all, I was in my twenties.  For me, this meant spending a lot of time killing off those pesky brain cells that caused this musical malady.  Secondly, during the times I was repetitively singing songs, it was considered cool and introspective.  Drinking wine and trying to make sense of the lyrics to songs like "Losing My Religion", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Plush" was a nearly full time hobby.

After college, entering the job market was brutal.  What did I have to do all day but sing songs to try to keep myself awake while chained to a desk?  I swear on my life, there was a period of several years where I sang the song, "If I Had a Hammer" every. single. day.  I don't even know a third of the lyrics.  If I had actually HAD a hammer, I might have used it to bash in my own brains just to stop that freaking song.

Most recently, I have entered the parenthood phase of my life.  If I thought that music could get stuck on a loop in my head before this, I had no idea what levels it could go to.  Children's music is relentlessly repetitive and lays in wait so that when I awaken to check on a crying daughter at 3:00AM, I am instantly greeted by the opening song for "Super Why" running through my head.  While I am blogging typing up reports at work, "The Cat in the Hat" lyrics are ramming away it the back of m brain (yes, if you're wondering, it IS happening right now.  "Here we go, go, go, go on an adventure...").   If I ever thought I had one shred of cool left in my, that myth has been readily busted by finding myself singing the lyrics to "Dora the Explorer" under my breath.  And liking it. 

It's really just like this HILARIOUS episode of "Sponge Bob" where they sing a song about a musical doodle.  The lyrics to "Musical Doodle" go like this: "The sound in your head is brutal, so just listen while we sing this musical doodle."  That show cracks me up!

Ahem.

Upon further contemplation, maybe one of those Wrath of Khan things would be a welcome distraction from my current mental, musical prison.  It really is brutal.

Comments

  1. Lucy The ValiantMay 31, 2012 at 6:19 AM

    Hahaha, I have the SAME problem! Kids music is the bane of my existence!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jason HathawayMay 31, 2012 at 9:39 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jason HathawayMay 31, 2012 at 9:42 AM

    This is the song that doesn't end
    Yes it goes on and on, my friend
    Some people started singing it not knowing what it was
    And, they'll continue singing it forever just because

    This is the song that doesn't end...;)

    ReplyDelete

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