Posted on 02/24/2003 8:26:14 PM PST by InShanghai
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The vast majority of people say they have been mentally tortured at one point in their lives by a song that keeps repeating itself over and over in their heads.
And new research shows that people most frequently plagued by this phenomenon are those with slightly neurotic tendencies , and people who enjoy and listen to music often.
These mental broken records are also more likely to play the first or last song we hear in different situations, such as the first song that comes on in the morning alarm, or the last song playing before we turn off the car, study findings show.
Songs that topped the list as being most likely to stick around in someone's head included the Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and the Chili's restaurant jingle about Baby Back Ribs.
But the number one song rated most likely to cause this phenomenon, referred to as an "earworm" in Germany, is "other"--indicating that many different songs can become stuck in our heads.
"Just about anything can get stuck in people's heads," study author Dr. James Kellaris of the University of Cincinnati told Reuters Health.
"We each have our personal demonic tunes that get stuck in our heads, I guess," he added.
Kellaris presented results from his current study on Saturday at the Society for Consumer Psychology Winter Conference in New Orleans.
Kellaris's previous research into the phenomenon of earworms revealed that "sticky" songs are those that are relatively simple, repetitive, and contain an element that surprises the listener. This incongruous element can be an interrupted pattern, or something that violates expectations of what comes next.
During the current study, Kellaris distributed surveys to 559 people aged 18 to 49 asking them about their personalities, how often tunes got stuck in their heads, how long the episodes lasted, and when the phenomenon was most likely to happen.
Ninety-eight percent of respondents said they had experienced stuck songs. Most said the episodes occurred "frequently," and lasted an average of a few hours.
Songs with lyrics were most often the culprits, a trend that Kellaris said is not surprising. Often what gets sticky is not just a tune, but also lyrics, a trend he calls "stupid lyrics syndrome." Combining a tune and lyrics ups the chance of song snippets staying with the listener for hours, he said.
Episodes of earworms also tend to strike people with neurotic tendencies more often. These people are not seriously neurotic, Kellaris said, but may simply be more prone to worrying and anxiety, and may have neurotic habits like biting pencils or tapping fingernails.
Women were more likely than men to report feeling annoyed, frustrated, or irritated about having songs stuck in their heads--a trend Kellaris said he is hard pressed to explain.
In terms of how to protect yourself from earworms, Kellaris recommended that people not worry about a stuck song as soon as it appears, and perhaps avoid listening to music for a spell if it becomes too sticky.
Strategies people report using to rid themselves of stuck tunes involved trying to listen to something else, distracting themselves with another activity, and trying to erase the repetition of one song snippet by singing the song all the way through.
"If they can't remember the lyrics, sometimes it helps for them to sing through the entire song, and then it will go away," Kellaris said.
Kellaris said he has also heard a "folkloric" recommendation of chewing on cinnamon sticks to rid the brain of a sticky song.
"Some people swear that will unstick a stuck tune," he said.
I know! I saw it coming, but played along anyway! (grin)
You know, if there is a Rock-and-Roll Hell--and I'm convinced there is; a good God would not let these deeds go unpunished--if there's a Rock-and-Roll Hell, then David Gates and Bread will be consigned to the lowest depths.
Joining David Gates "of Hell" in the Bread-and-jam session will be: Mac Davis and Bobby Goldsboro (a package deal), Barry Manilow (big crescendo there, Bar), and . . . who only made bad songs? Joni Mitchell/Carole King (who are really the same person)?
It's tough, because even some of the worst singers/groups made at least one song I liked: Seals and Crofts, "Closer to You, Closer to Me" (or vice versa); America, "Sister Goldenhair Surprise" (OK, you may disagree with me on that one). But you see my point.
And so the only reason Neil Diamond gets off easy with only a few thousand years in Rock-and-Roll Purgatory is because for about his first two-three years (1966-68), he did make some rather catchy songs. That was before those hot August nights of songs sung blue with Cracklin' Rosie and Sweet Caroline in Brother Love's Travelin' Salvation Show.
OK, I've got two that will haunt you for the rest of the day (please forgive me):
Brand New Key - Melanie
I Have a Nickel - some bratty little child singer and an adult accomplice.
I can't believe you let Air Supply slide. Each member of that "band" should be consigned to forever ride an elevator from infinite floor to infinite floor, with the doors never opening, having to listen to their own "music" all the while. Lock a flatulent operator in there with them as well.
Thank you. How long will he be in prison?
Brand New Key.
Omigod. 500 posts, and we forgot Brand New Key.
...makes me wonder why I'm up so high, when really I am down so low...
I still have it. Make me an offer.
"Wake up a little Susie, Wake up!
Regards,
TS
Because if you are, than I have just one song to sing to you...
"I wish I were in Dixie
Hooray, Hooray!
In Dixieland I'll make my stand
Away down south in Dixie!
TS
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