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.
duke-duke-duke-duke of earl duke-duke
duke of earl duke-duke duke of earl...
Spring would be a dreary season, if the were nothing else but Spring would be a dreary season, if the were nothing else but Spring would be a dreary season, if the were nothing else but Spring would be a dreary season, if the were nothing else but ...
Hi LJ -- well, at first I was trying to figure out what you were referring to -- then I realized the post you were responding to was over two years ago!! But as a cataloging clerk in a library, I guess you're used to rummaging through the archives!! I don't know that particular Andrews Sisters song -- they were a bit before I was born -- although I like the sentiment. Could you imagine the Dixie Chicks or Avril Lavigne doing one like that? As for the Andrews -- don't suppose you know "Rum and Coca Cola" or "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen"? Those are good stuck in the head songs. (I had to laugh at your profile -- stuck in a liberal library -- I'm planted in the middle of Boston, so I know the feeling!!) Thanks for bringing back a great old post -- one more trip down memory lane.
"Raindrops keep falling on my head"
Sorry y'all, it won't work. I refuse to have songs stuck in my head :)
the devil with the blue dress, blue dress, the devil with the blue dress on..
that happens to me all the time.
the worst case is when i wake up to take a leak in the night and i have 2 songs going on at once!
can't wait to get back to sleep.
pingy
I play guitar, but not enough to be good at it. For the last two days I've had the tune from the movie 'O'brother where art thou?' called Big Rock Candy Mountains it goes like this:
One evening as the sun went down
and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking
and he said boys I'm not turning
I'm headin for a land
that's far away
beside the crystal fountains
So come with me we'll go and see
the Big Rock Candy Mountains
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes
and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty
and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees
and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs
where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
and the hens lay soft boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit
and the barns are full of hay
Oh, I'm bound to go
where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall
and the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
you never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol
come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats
and the railroad bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew
and of whiskey too
You can paddle all around 'em
in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
the jails are made of tin
And you can walk right out again
as soon as you are in
There ain't no short handled shovels,
no axes saws or picks
I'm a goin to stay
where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk
that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
I'll see you all
this coming fall
in the Big Rock Candy Mountains
that's impressive.
i'm not musical. but songs just replay themselves over and over in my head.
it's the tunes and only some of the words that go through my head! i guess i should look up the songs and words on the internet.
bttt
Bless you.
bttt
bump
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us.
Why don't we do it in the road?
VERSE 2:
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
Why don't we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us.
Why don't we do it in the road?
Another British Invasion song:
I'm Henery the Eighth I am.
Henery the Eighth I am, I am....
And of course this gem:
Dooooooo, do do do do do doooooo.
Don't worry
Do do do do do dooooo
Be happy
Do do do do do dooooo
Don't worry be happy.
Oh Oh Oh-Oh Sweet Child of mi-ine...followed by the
solo...great song but after "n" plays - where "n" is a positive integer between 50 and Omigod I burst my brain,
it gets a little wearing!
I of course am thinking of his classic hit "Mashed Potatoes," which, as I recall, nearly filled up the entire "B" side of one of his albums. If you had an underprivileged adolescence and never heard this classic, here are the lyrics as near as I can remember:
[minute or two of guitars and drums]
[another minute or two of guitars and drums]
[another minute or two of guitars and drums]
[another minute or two of guitars and drums. Be patient! Vocals coming up soon!]
[another minute or two of guitars and drums. Almost there. I promise.]
[another minute or two of guitars and drums. OK! Here they come!!!]
"Got mashed potatoes". [pause]
"Got mashed potatoes". [pause]
"Ain't got no T-bone". [pause]
"Ain't got no T-bone". [pause]
[Another 20-25 minutes of jamming]
[End of song. Would you like to hear it again?!?]
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