Posted on 10/20/2003 10:54:35 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance
ALBANY, N.Y. - Unexpected and insidious, the earworm slinks its way into the brain and refuses to leave. Symptoms vary, although high levels of annoyance and frustration are common. There are numerous potential treatments, but no cure.
"Earworm" is the term coined by University of Cincinnati marketing professor James Kellaris for the usually unwelcome songs that get stuck in people's heads. Since beginning his research in 2000, Kellaris has heard from people all over the world requesting help, sharing anecdotes and offering solutions.
"I quickly learned that virtually everybody experiences earworms at one time or another," he said. "I think because it's experienced privately and not often a topic of conversation, maybe people really long for some social comparison. They want to know if other people experience what they experience."
Kellaris, whose most pervasive personal earworm (Byzantine chants) likely has something to do with his wife's job as a church choir director, has been interested in the topic of earworms for decades. As a musician who now studies how marketers reach the public, he began wondering how widespread stuck songs really are, and began doing small surveys in 2000.
Last year, he surveyed about 500 students, faculty and staff on campus asking about the type, frequency and duration of earworms, and possible causes and cures. Among the songs respondents picked as most likely to become stuck were: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," the Chili's restaurant "baby back ribs" jingle and "Who Let the Dogs Out."
But the choice that topped the so-called "playlist from hell" was "Other," meaning the majority of those surveyed chose a unique song of their own as the most probable earworm. That led Kellaris to conclude that stuck songs are highly idiosyncratic.
"There are certain tunes that we would describe as catchy that are more likely to become one, but just about anything can become an earworm," he said.
The study, presented at conferences of the Society for Consumer Psychology in 2001 and 2003, showed:
_Women report more irritation and frustration as a result of earworms.
_People who are constantly exposed to music suffer them more frequently.
_There may be a connection between earworms and a person's level of neurosis.
"People with higher neuroticism scores tend to react to the onset of an earworm by saying 'Oh no, here it goes again, I wonder how long this is going to last,'" Kellaris said. "That fretting about it, I think, exacerbates it."
The atmosphere is ripe for earworms at Last Vestige, a music store just west of downtown Albany. As customers flipped through compact discs and records with markers displaying such subjects as "Elvis the Pelvis" and "Beatles Cash-in Copycats," employees Jim Kaufman and Charles Monroe ruminated on recent bouts with earworms.
"Top 40 pop, usually — stuff you wouldn't catch yourself listening to at home," said Kaufman, who named Jennifer Lopez's "Jenny From the Block" as a past stuck song. "Or stuff you're ashamed to admit listening to at home."
Both men said they get rid of earworms either by trying to ignore them or by playing a tune they enjoy. Monroe said an earworm "usually happens when I only hear the song for like a second, like if I go to the laundromat and I'm kind of in and out."
Kellaris heard similar stories after news of his study reached the public. He got hundreds of e-mails from the Philippines, South Africa, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Argentina and all over North America. Among the messages:
_A company that provided background music for retail stores wanted to know how to avoid using music prone to becoming an earworm.
_Sufferers of a psychiatric condition where patients hear music when none is playing sent queries and case histories hoping Kellaris had found a way to cure or treat the disorder. The professor said the two are unrelated.
_Personal stories about earworms haunting individuals for weeks, months or years.
_Suggestions of how to cure an earworm, including chewing on a cinnamon stick, passing the earworm on to someone else or erasing the offending song by singing the theme from "Gilligan's Island."
For marketers, earworms can be a "double-edged sword," helpful if consumers look upon a memorable jingle favorably but with the potential to breed negativity toward a brand if the stuck song is viewed as annoying or unwelcome, said Larry Compeau, a marketing professor at Clarkson University and executive officer of the Society for Consumer Psychology.
"I think the trick with earworms or with any kind of piece of music in advertising is to make sure the music is going to trigger the kinds of emotions or feelings you want the consumer to experience," he said.
Studying when earworms are most likely to occur is next up for Kellaris.
He said one theory is that stuck songs are "the brain's attempt to resolve missing information," and that retrieving the forgotten lyrics of a song will provide closure that "unsticks" an earworm.
My worst case stuck-song was about a rubber ducky in the bathtub. "Rubber ducky, you're the one..."
Was working construction and heard that tune all day long.
Can't stand ducks to this day.
It's a small world, after all...
It's a small world after all...
It's a small world after all.
It's a small, small, world.
(machine gun fire);)
(grin)
When we pulled into Argo Port in need of R & R
The crew set out investigating every joint and bar
We had high expectations of their hospitality
But found too late it wasn't geared for spacers such as we
CHORUS: And we're banned from Argo, every one.
Banned from Argo just for having a little fun.
We spent a jolly shoreleave there for just three days or four
But Argo doesn't want us anymore
Our captain's tastes were simple but his methods were complex
We found him with five partners each of a different world and sex
The shorepolice were on the way -- we had no second chance
We beamed him up in the nick of time in the remnants of his pants
CHORUS
Our engineer would yield to none in putting down the brew
He outdrank seven space marines and a demolition crew
The navigator didn't win but he outdrank almost all
And now they've got a shuttlecraft on the roof of city hall
CHORUS
Our proper cool first officer was drugged in something green
And hauled into an alley where he suffered things obscene
He sobered up in sickbay and he's none the worse for wear
Except he somehow taught the bridge computer how to swear
CHORUS
The head nurse disappeared a while in the major dope bazaar
Buying an odd green potion guaranteed to cause pon farr
She came home with no uniform and an oddly cheerful heart
And a painful way of walking with her feet a yard apart
CHORUS
Our lady of communications won a ship-wide bet
By getting into the planet's main communications net
Now every time someone calls up on an Argo telescreen
The flesh is there but the clothes they wear are nowhere to be seen
CHORUS
Our doctor loves humanity; his private life is quiet
The shorepolice arrested him for inciting whores to riot
We found him in the city jail, locked on and beamed him free
Intact except for hickeys and six kinds of VD
CHORUS
Our helmsman loves exotic plants and the plants all love him too
He took some down on leave with him and he wondered what they'd do
The planetary governor called and swore upon his life
That a gang of plants entwined his house and then seduced his wife
CHORUS
A gang of pirates landed and nobody seemed to care
They stomped into the nearest bar to announce that they were there
Half our crew was busy therein and invited them to play
But the pirates only looked at us and turned and ran away
CHORUS
Our crew is Starfleet's finest and our record is our pride
And when we play we tend to leave a trail a mile wide
We're sorry 'bout the wreckage and the riots and the fuss
At least we're sure that planet won't be quick forgetting us
CHORUS
(Wonder why?)
....that is/was a fun song...one more time. :))
When it comes to advertising jingles and catchy tunes, I am NEVER troubled with them because I pretty much never allow myself to be exposed to them. If the TV is on, I ALWAYS mute commercials and in the car with the radio on, I always kill the volume when there are commercials, so the only time I am ever really exposed to them is if I am in a store or someone else's house and hear them.
That said, I do seem to have problems from time to time with other songs, usually that have been on the radio at work and they are seldom songs that I like. Ususally they are songs I am indifferent towards...the most recent "Cracklin' Rose."
Rubber ducky, you're the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun.
Rubby ducky, I'm awfully fond of you...
Doo-doo-dee-doo
That one? ;-)
LOL!
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