No Cure for Songs Stuck in Your Head

Strange News - AP | Mon Oct 20, 9:48 AM ET | By RACHEL KIPP, Associated Press Writer

[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.

[PoorMuttly]

This is why I boiled my TV...

...in bleach.

[VermiciousKnid]

Oh, man...now you've gone and done it..."Scotland the Brave" is one that ALWAYS gets stuck in my head.

Want to REALLY go nuts? Try whistling the Old Spice jingle while thinking about "Scotland the Brave." It can't be done, I tell you, it CAN'T BE DONE!!! AHHHHH!

I'm sorry...I had a little breakdown there for a second.

Here are a few more that routinely get stuck in my head (and I like a lot of these!):

"Those Were the Days My Friends,"
"My Darling Clementine," (which happens to ALSO be the tune to "Found a Peanut"),
"Homeward Bound,"
"Ode to Billy Joe,"
"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" AND "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down"
Theme song from "Hogan's Heroes"

I'm sure there are more, but oddly enough, I can't think of them now.

Regards,

[Dan from Michigan]

I'm gonna STAAAND my ground. No I woon't baack doown."

How can that be on the list. That's my theme song.

[Diverdogz]

Good idea.

There are a whole lot of annoying earworms due to local advertising on TV stations. Dumb hicks selling furniture, used cars, whatever. Their stupid sayings and jingles seem to linger longer - maybe due to the frequency you hear them.
I'm sure your community has them, too.

[Dan from Michigan]

Damn it!

[VermiciousKnid]

Oh no! I just thought of another one and now it's stuck in my head again!

"Oh, child, things are gunna get easier,
Oh, child, things'll be brighter..."

[Uncle Meat]

Oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind!

To this day,I still find it hard to believe that was the same chick that played one of the hookers in Easyriders tripping in the New Orleans graveyard with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper

[PoorMuttly]

I refuse to HAVE a community.

I am a pilgrim...a sojourner. I am happier providing my OWN culture. This way I can be friendly to all...since they are all strangers...and I swallow no hooks. I noticed when you follow the herd...like popular music and trends...one is easily lead...and when they notice their errors later...it is you left holding the bag, looking stupid. They just make their next piece of catchy junk, and it starts over again.

Remember "She Works Hard for the Money?"....I just don't want more garbage in my head. There are messages simmered in with the instrumentals. It is salesmanship...and what is being sold, sweetened, rhymed...is not always the most wholesome nourshment one could desire...and when you find out later what has REALLY stuck in your head...it is too late.

[VermiciousKnid]

Speaking of Willies...

Anybody remember

"Say, hey, Willy, won't you hit one out here,
I'll give you a cheer if you do?"

[ChemistCat]

Sounds like a good rationalization for an introverted loner. Mind if I steal it? :-)

[Diverdogz]

Last time I created my own culture, the doc made me take antibiotics for strep throat :)

It is salesmanship...and what is being sold, sweetened, rhymed...

Marketing to kids is thinly veiled in this regard. Damn those half-hour long commercials they call cartoons.

[PoorMuttly]

sounds like it, but it isn't. I am very pleasant and social, and even do some well-received public speaking. I am discribed as full of unconditional love, and encouragement. This is how I do it...without really taking sides. I never err too much this way, or take a polarized posture I will later regret.

It is Adulthood...which I never really understood as anything but isolation and hostility. It is not. It is wisdom.

You are welcomed to use anything that you can...but be careful. An old saying says..."Always tell the truth...then run like hell !"

[Pro-Bush]

Kool & The Gang Celebration Lyrics


Yahoo! This is your celebration
Yahoo! This is your celebration

Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)

There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you

Come on now

Celebration
Let's all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time

It's time to come together
It's up to you, what's your pleasure

Everyone around the world
Come on!

Yahoo! It's a celebration
Yahoo!

Celebrate good times, come on!
It's a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let's celebrate

We're gonna have a good time tonight
Let's celebrate, it's all right
We're gonna have a good time tonight
Let's celebrate, it's all right

Baby...

We're gonna have a good time tonight (Ce-le-bra-tion)
Let's celebrate, it's all right
We're gonna have a good time tonight (Ce-le-bra-tion)
Let's celebrate, it's all right

Yahoo!
Yahoo!

Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on!
It's a celebration!
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)

Come on and celebrate, good times, tonight (Celebrate good times, come on!)
'Cause everything's gonna be all right
Let's celebrate (Celebrate good times, come on)
(Let's celebrate)…

[ChemistCat]

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
But we are disenfrancised
So we must protest any election we lose
Not those we win

[wi jd]

"Take a chance on me" - Abba Erasure

[OnAMission]

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

CHORUS:
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

CHORUS

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well ~~~

CHORUS

**Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

CHORUS

Repeat **

Hup 2, 3, 4. Sound off 3, 4.... Hup 2, 3, 4.
Sound off 3, 4.... Hup 2, 3, 4

[PoorMuttly]

Personally, I'd like to teach the world to sing....and drink Pepsi, of course.

[wi jd]

Damn it....I'm your captain..I'm your captain, and I'm feeling, Mighty Sick.

I'm getting closer to your wooooorrrlllllllldddd!

[PoorMuttly]

HEY....you're not going to slam "Please Mister Custer" next, are you..?!!!

I was singing that all last week.

Be careful...or I'll sing "Ragmop" to you about a thousand times.

[wi jd]

I'm getting closer to your wooooorrrlllllllldddd!

FYI, I know that lyric is wrong, but that is what I used to think it was and that always stuck in my head. That is even worse than the correct lyric.