Song Stuck in Your Head? You're Not Alone

Reuters ^ | Monday, Feb 24, 2003 | Alison McCook

[InShanghai]

 

Song Stuck in Your Head? You're Not Alone

By Alison McCook

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.

[CARDINALRULES]

Oh I know....Toby does a good rendition of it.

Along with the always favorite Take me out to the Ballgame and Jingle Bells.

[AmericanPhoenix911]

Oh, MAN!
Straight out'a the past! I read those first few words and the rhythm and lazy spoken words came rushing back. Amazing how music can stick so long in your brain....long after more useful things are vanished. Thanks for the memories......

[unspun]

That one hits me some times after a shower.

[Poser]

And of course:

Well let me tell you a story about a man named Charlie
on a tragic and fatefull day
He put ten cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family
went to ride on the MTA

[DreamWeaver]

thanks for this post, I thought I was the only one and I kind of thought perhaps I am becoming OCB.. who knows , maybe we are :):)

[always paddle your own canoe]

I'm gonna wash that man right outa my hair, I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair....and send him on his way

[speedy]

You've got to walk that lonesome valley. You've got to walk it by yourself. Oh, nobody else can walk it for you. You've got to walk it by yourself. Also the Kingstons.

[reg45]

Just for you:

Suicide Is Painless

[CARDINALRULES]

A long, long time ago... I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver,
With every paper I'd deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep...
I couldn't take one more step.

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.

Soo..Bye, bye miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And good ol' boys were drinking whisky and rye?
Singing this will be the day that I die
this will be the day that I die

[Poser]

Obscure Kingston Trio Question

What was "The finest atomic ship to ever sail the seas"?

[speedy]

Fair play for Gale Garnett!! How about Reparata and the Delrons "Whenever A Teenager Cries"? Okay, I missed enough sleep last night on this. I'm outta here. Enjoyed it. Later.

[always paddle your own canoe]

Thanks. Never have been good with the words, but I love the melody. kinda gets stuck in the head if ya know what I mean.....

[speedy]

My last post tonight, and the answer is I don't know!! Wish you had asked me a "Desert Pete" question -- there's just enough to prime it with, so don't you go drinkin' first -- you just pour it in and pump like mad and buddy you'll quench your thirst. G'night.

[Charles Henrickson]

DreamWeaver, I believe you can get me through the night. DreamWeaver, I believe we can reach the morning light.

[Poser]

Good night Speedy.

[CARDINALRULES]

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight,
Schlimiel, schlimazel, hasenpfeffer, incorporated.

We're gonna do it!

Give us any chance we'll take it,

Read us any rule, we'll break it.

We're gonna make our dreams come true.

Doin' it our way!

Nothing's gonna turn us back now,

Straight ahead and on the track now.

We're gonna make our dreams come true,

Doin' it our way!

There's nothing we won't try,

Never heard the word "impossible."

This time there's no stopping us,

We're gonna do it!

On your mark, get set, and go now,

Gotta dream and we just know now.

We're gonna make that dream come true.

And we'll do it our way, yes, our way,

Make all our dreams come true.

And we'll do it our way, yes, our way,

Make all our dreams come true

For me and you.

[unspun]

You fill up my seeeeenses. Like a night in a forest.
Like the mountains in spriiiiingtime. Like a walk in the raaaaaain.
- - -
And by the same token:

Crossin' the highway late last night,
He shoulda' looked left and he shoulda' looked right,
Didn't see the station wagon, car,
The skunk got squashed and there ya are,
YA GOTCHER DEAD SKUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD,
DEAD SKUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
DEAD SKUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD....

[reg45]

Read the lyrics carefully and think about the date.

[always paddle your own canoe]

Girls, they wanna have fun, oh girls just wanna have fun...

Dancing in the street....

Gonna party like its 1999.....

I'm leaving..on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again

Little red corvette/Purple Rain/Raspberry beret


I think its time to go to bed....might take a while with all these running thru my head...

[CARDINALRULES]

Damn and I just found a ton that I know would drive you nuts...oh well.