Earworms du jour

[Mr._Graybeard]

Does anyone have a catchy-yet-slightly irritating song running on their inner soundtrack that they can't seem to shake? I've been living with this one for the last day or two.

 

[MRG]

I have read you should listen to completion.

 

[Marita40]

Ohh, anything BeeGees can be obsessive.
Here's the one I've been replaying for nearly a week after my spinning instructor played it in our class: The Proclaimers 500 miles (theme song for Benny and Joon)

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I have read you should listen to completion.

That little keyboard riff between verses is what hangs me up. It's on continuous loop!

 

[MuirWannabe]

Ohh, anything BeeGees can be obsessive.
Here's the one I've been replaying for nearly a week after my spinning instructor played it in our class: The Proclaimers 500 miles (theme song for Benny and Joon)

Thanks. Now it’s in my head. It is a nice hiking song though.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Thanks. Now it’s in my head. It is a nice hiking song though.

Maybe we need some kind of disclaimer on this thread.

I guess most of my earworms hail from the '70s. I had a passing awareness of the 500-mile song, but I never heard it enough for it to make a lasting impression.

I also think I have a weakness for chirpy vocals. In fact, Mac and Katie Kissoon's "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" also invades my inner space from time to time.

 

[MRG]

That little keyboard riff between verses is what hangs me up. It's on continuous loop!

Oh no. It's best not to listen to other's earworms. Especially the BG. They're one of the worst for me. I can't even write the title to a particular one of their songs without it causing a worm.

Seriously I've read several people talking about how your brain needs to finish the song causing the worm.

Good luck.

 

[Nemo2]

I often have this one circulating:

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Seriously I've read several people talking about how your brain needs to finish the song causing the worm.

But to finish the song I'd have to learn all the lyrics to "Jive Talkin,'" wouldn't I? At the moment all I know is "Jive talkin,'" and the instrumental "toodle-oodle-oot, oodle-oot, doo, doo, doo, doo, doot doot." I'm not sure I want to learn any more.

Anyway, it's not such a dreaded thing, it's more like the soundtrack to my life. A little annoying that I can't hum a more significant tune under my breath, perhaps.

I wonder if the BeeGees were consciously writing an earworm quality into their music. All the Barry Gibb stuff seems to have that quality. Robin Gibb, not so much. In fact, not at all.

 

[W2R]

Four days after Mardi Gras, I've still got a Mardi Gras song called Iko Iko in my head. If you ever lived in New Orleans this version of the song by the Dixie Cups will be quite an earworm; don't know if others know the song or not.

 

[Silver]

Wichita Lineman is my current earworm. In fact, I just complained about it to my DH yesterday. No idea why it's stuck. I finally started reading about the song writer, Jimmy Webb, who also wrote McArthur's Park, and now the two songs are taking turns inside my head. Damn.

 

[easysurfer]

I've have the Juice Newton song "Angel of the Morning" stuck my brain for about a month. Oh, and last night watched Laura Branigan's "Gloria" on youtube, so that'll be stuck in my brain for awhile too.

Gloria....Gloria... Gloria...

 

[MRG]

But to finish the song I'd have to learn all the lyrics to "Jive Talkin,'" wouldn't I? At the moment all I know is "Jive talkin,'" and the instrumental "toodle-oodle-oot, oodle-oot, doo, doo, doo, doo, doot doot." I'm not sure I want to learn any more.

Anyway, it's not such a dreaded thing, it's more like the soundtrack to my life. A little annoying that I can't hum a more significant tune under my breath, perhaps.

I wonder if the BeeGees were consciously writing an earworm quality into their music. All the Barry Gibb stuff seems to have that quality. Robin Gibb, not so much. In fact, not at all.

Interesting question if they knew about the worm quality of their work. Obviously they wanted to create music that one could listen to repetitively. I notice no difference between the brother's work, actually some of the older work is more worm-worthy to me.

Perhaps it's because that music was shared between my older sister and me? We were far enough apart in age that the BG's were some of our only common artists we could tolerate.


I do think some artist's are more earworm worthy than others. But I found a new(old) one the other day. Instant worm for me. YMMV.

Tom Petty and Mudcrutch: Lover of the Bayou: https://youtu.be/Zy38e85gfzs

With lyrics like these:
And I've got cats and teeth and hair for sale
I'm the lover of the bayou
Baron Samedi is on your tail
I'm the lover of the bayou

I cooked the bat in the gumbo pan
Drank the blood from a rusty can
Turned me into the hunger man
I'm the lover of the bayou, yeah

 

[Nemo2]

Now I have this one:

 

[mystang52]

I believe it was only broadcast locally, but there was a great Super Bowl commercial featuring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham. They did a takeoff from Dirty Dancing. For a good week or so I couldn't get the damned song Time of My Life out of my head. Hated the song when it first came out, and still hate it.
And, I don't know why but a while back I had Do You Know the Way to San Jose stuck in my head, and that too was torture.
Does even mentioning these songs increase their likelihood of another earworm?

 

[Sunset]

I often have this one circulating:

That is a nice sound, maybe I'll listen to more Candy Dulfer.

 

[cooch96]

Wichita Lineman is my current earworm. In fact, I just complained about it to my DH yesterday. No idea why it's stuck. I finally started reading about the song writer, Jimmy Webb, who also wrote McArthur's Park, and now the two songs are taking turns inside my head. Damn.

I recall a certain Miami Herald columnist, Dave Barry, once did a very scientific survey to find the worst recorded song. This was long enough ago that readers sent in cassettes for consideration. After survey conclusion, Mr. Barry admitted there were some truly atrocious songs out there, but a song had to be famous enough to inflict itself into millions of ears to be considered the worst ever. MacArthur Park won hands down, not even close.

I feel for your ear worm. May it pass and get replaced by something more benign soon.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Interesting question if they knew about the worm quality of their work. Obviously they wanted to create music that one could listen to repetitively. I notice no difference between the brother's work, actually some of the older work is more worm-worthy to me.

Perhaps it's because that music was shared between my older sister and me? We were far enough apart in age that the BG's were some of our only common artists we could tolerate.


I do think some artist's are more earworm worthy than others. But I found a new(old) one the other day. Instant worm for me. YMMV.

Tom Petty and Mudcrutch: Lover of the Bayou:

With lyrics like these:
And I've got cats and teeth and hair for sale
I'm the lover of the bayou
Baron Samedi is on your tail
I'm the lover of the bayou

I cooked the bat in the gumbo pan
Drank the blood from a rusty can
Turned me into the hunger man
I'm the lover of the bayou, yeah

I think Robin Gibb's halting vocal delivery knocks his songs out of the earworm track for me. Likewise, Petty's voice is so distinctive, and the guitar riffs so powerful -- they go somewhere. To me, earworm music just goes around and around. Sometimes the most infectious earworms pop up on the radio, and I barely notice them -- they bypass the frontal lobe and enter the consciousness at a lower level.

Silver mentioned the Webb/Campbell hit "Wichita Lineman." That team produced some great songs that have an insidious earworm quality. "Galveston" is another. What is the key? The sighing strings? Campbell's high tenor? Webb's lyrical talent for focusing on a moment in time?

"Iko Iko" ... love it. I had to google the history of that song to see if it wasn't an adaptation of some bayou folk tune. To my surprise it isn't.

I remember the Dixie Cups version of "Iko Iko" and Dr. John's version, but I hadn't heard this one:

A bit before my time.

 

[USGrant1962]

We've been catching up on the series Vikings and I'm stuck with the theme song "If I Had a Heart". Watching it every other night or so just reinforces the worm.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I often have this one circulating:

I was completely unfamiliar with both of those tunes. I really like the instrumental.

I've generally associated the earworm phenomenon with music played on Top 40 AM radio, but they certainly can arise out of a broader catalog, can't they?

Nick Lowe did an infectious cover of this tune, slowed it down a bit and growled the lyrics. I'm surprised that I can't find it on YouTube, so this'll have to do:

Auerbach reminds me a bit of earworm manufacturer Gerry Rafferty. He also brought to mind this 1970 hit that was on my earworm top 40 for a while:

 

[CaptTom]

Sorry to interrupt all this talk about the music, but what about the phenomenon itself?

Has anyone noticed that getting a song "stuck in your head" increases with age? Or does it just seem that way because there was always music playing when we were younger?

Lately, it's when I first wake up. Some random song, not necessarily one I like or even have heard recently, starts playing in my head. I don't remember that happening a lot before, but of course back then I had to bolt out of bed to get ready for w*rk. So maybe it's not senility setting in

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Well, I think age determines which songs get stuck in your head. I think I've had them most of my life ... I can remember humming along to my internal recording of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" when it was on Top-40 playlists.

I think the Top-40 music format encouraged the earworm phenomenon, but suspect it's familiar to younger generations. Although I can't imagine having "Gangnam Style" going round and round in my head.

 

[MOSAT]

I worked in a drive in burger joint flipping burgers in the early 70’s my contemporaries would come in drop 25 cents and get 5 plays on the jukebox. Sometimes they would play the same song back to back to..... arrrgh! Out they would go and in would come the next group, you guessed it, same popular song or group of songs. To this day if I hear most on that music it’s stuck for a few hours. Sirius radio 70’s on 7 is banned it the car on trips!

 

[Marita40]

I have always been subject to long-standing earworms, so I don't get the sense that it is worse with age. It seems, rather, to be a song I hear early in the morning or last thing at night. A couple songs are frequent recurring earworms. For some reason, the Hollies with Graham Nash's high notes recur:

Edited to note: this is a very groovy video

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Edited to note: this is a very groovy video

As far as I'm concerned, ALL the Hollies' videos are very groovy. I really like their video of "Carousel" with teens on the dance floor.