Song on the Radio

How often do you get a song stuck in your head? Recently, for me, it seems to happen all the time.

Case in point: this morning when I was getting ready for work, I noticed I had the song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen stuck in my head. I have no idea why.

I don’t remember hearing the song recently and it definitely isn’t one that I particularly like. For example, if I were to list my Top 100 songs, it surely wouldn’t be on my list. Yet, there it was…along with the shampoo, toothpaste and shaving cream; a part of my morning routine today.

Yesterday, I had the Eagles’ cover of the holiday tune, “Please Come Home for Christmas.” I wonder if that was a subconscious paring of music and weather? You know…White Christmas and all that. (As an aside, my mom is a big Eagles fan and yesterday was my folks’ wedding anniversary, so I want to do a belated shout out to my mom and dad).

Still, I don’t think my parents’ anniversary had anything to do with me thinking of the Eagles early yesterday as the snowflakes fell. Still, it does kind of give you a peaceful, easy feeling, doesn’t it?

A couple years ago there was this term floating around – earworm – to describe this phenomenon. I’ve often wondered about how you get a song stuck in your head; an earworm, if you will. Sometimes, I think, it is as easy as this: you start up the car and as you’re driving down the road, you hear a Song on the Radio.

Then, you’ve got it for the rest of that day (or in some cases, days). But why?

I went to the ol’ Coach Jeff stand-by, an internet search, and whereas I found numerous references for earworms, none of them seemed to provide a definitive solution. In fact, while many sites could describe the scenario, few of them offered any conclusive diagnoses.

The common outline was simple: you hear a song and you get a snippet of the song stuck in your head (such as the chorus) and your mind plays it over and over filling in addition lyrics until, somehow, you satisfy that need.

With regard to Queen, I had the ‘jelly fish’ part going through my mind; as for the Eagles, it was the line “Choirs will be singing ‘Silent Night.’” Two random songs by bands that I would say I like but don’t love. It’s not like I was jamming to something by U2. Also, I’ve been listening to a lot of Al Stewart recently, but no Scottish earworms to report.

Random.

On a positive note, if I want to switch these out, Buzzfeed has compiled a list of 21 songs that are guaranteed to stick in your head if you hear them. If you’re stuck in a brainwave rut, the list features some diverse alternatives.

I have some experience with a couple of them. For example, when I was playing softball with the Phuds back in my grad school days I spent some time with one from the list. When I was pitching, for some reason, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” would frequently pop into my head when I was warming up between innings. I have no idea why.

And of course, if you have been to a hockey game of any sort, you know that Europe’s “The Final Countdown” is a frequent selection played in the arena (often just before a crucial dropping of the puck). I actually heard it during a recent college basketball broadcast, too, at a pivotal moment of the game within the last couple of weeks.

I’m sure regular readers of Coach Jeff’s Blog would have some great examples to share, too, and I’d love to hear them. I will post a question at the bottom of the blog and if you’d like to contribute some of your earworm examples, I’ll post them.

In the meantime, if you get a song stuck in your head, I’d say just let it play out. Maybe sing it loud and proud from the shower or dance it out while no one is listening.

And if all else fails, you can call me, maybe.

JG

Question of the Day: What are your favorite examples of earworms you’ve had stuck in your head?

Originally posted 2/25/2015