NY Times: When A Brain Grabs A Tune And Won't Let Go

[quadro2000]

I found this to be a pretty interesting article, apologies if it's been posted here. What songs get stuck in YOUR head? (Of course, by posting them here, you doom the rest of us, but so be it!)

****
August 12, 2003
When the Brain Grabs a Tune and Won't Let Go
By JESSICA KOVLER


There's nothing nicer than a tune playing in your head — until you can't turn it off.

The phenomenon has spanned the ages. In 1882, Mark Twain wrote in a short story of an annoying "jingling rhyme" that became indelibly lodged in the author's mind until he passed the curse along to another hapless victim. This summer, a community board in Brooklyn has called for a limit on the playing of the "Mr. Softee" jingle by ice-cream trucks — a jingle that can be unbearably memorable for those subjected to it for extended periods.

Research has helped define, but not explain, the experience.

A recent study by the University of Cincinnati looked at the affliction, which the author, James Kellaris, calls earworms from the German word ohrwurm. The ear part is obvious, but the worm part is not incidental. Dr. Kellaris, a consumer psychologist, says it conveys the parasitic nature of the unending tunes, which lodge too deep in the mental continuum to be easily ousted.

He found that some 98 percent of listeners will at one time or another be bothered by a tune that will not leave their heads. The study also found some common offenders, including the Kit-Kat jingle ("Gimme a break"), "Who Let the Dogs Out," Queen's "We Will Rock You," the theme to "Mission: Impossible," "Y.M.C.A.," "Whoomp, There It Is," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "It's A Small World After All."

The study also showed that musicians and those with compulsive tendencies are the most afflicted.

The 559 students used in the study had lots of trouble with the Chili's jingle for its baby-back ribs and with the Baha Men song "Who Let the Dogs Out." But Dr. Kellaris found that most often, each person tends to be haunted by their demon notes.

There can be a positive side for some. The singer-songwriter Neil Diamond says those repetitive notes that will not go away have spawned some of his biggest hits.

"If I wasn't in the business of songwriting, I'd probably be seeing a doctor," Mr. Diamond said. "I've tried everything from cold showers to listening to other people's music, but nothing helps."

Most of his songs spring from a melodic swatch of six notes repeating in his mind. "I'll be driving or watching TV or having lunch, and it just invades," he said. "It's a horrible obsession, but it seems to have paid off."

Graham Nash said the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song "Black Notes" had a similar origin. "I was at a concert with Crosby at Carnegie Hall in 1970," Mr. Nash said. "He ran offstage to get Young and just left me hanging there. Well, I had nothing to do, so I started playing a few notes that had been stuck in my head for a few days. The notes soon became a verse and then an entire song, right there."

The greater susceptibility of musicians may simply reflect how much more music they listen to. But other research has shown that musical training leads to changes in brain function and structure in regions like the rostromedial prefrontal cortex, an area located behind the forehead that is involved in the perception of melody. Some kind of self-perpetuating stimulus of these circuits may explain why familiar tunes like "Y.M.C.A." can literally become branded in the brain. Neural circuits for music perception also appear in the temporal lobes, which is involved in more basic sound processing.

Petr Janata, a research assistant professor at Dartmouth who studies music and the brain, said the effect can be heightened when sound is linked to motion. "The brain and the body get involved. When we put specific dance to the music — like with the `Macarena' or `The Hustle' — the whole body remembers the tune."

Repetition often helps to create a sticky song, as do those whose melodies repeat or contain an element of surprise. "Our jingle often ran on all three networks tons of times a day," said John Clarke, chief advertising officer of Dr. Pepper/7Up. "And those phrases were catchy. `I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?' "

That jingle also ran longer than a jingle of 2003 would, 60 seconds compared with this year's 15. It was a simple tune, the perfect ingredients for an earworm, Dr. Kellaris said.

Singing the song aloud can sometimes erase it.

"It's a familiar pattern of itching and scratching," Dr. Kellaris says. "The only way to `scratch' a cognitive itch is to rehearse the start involuntarily, as the brain detects an incongruity or something `exceptional' in the musical stimulus."

Other advice?

"Don't worry — be happy," Dr. Kellaris says. "It's a small world after all and one day we will lift up our chin, and grin, and say, whoomp — there it is."

[Cynthetiq]

Tom's Diner - Suzanne Vega

ta ta ta duh ta ta ta duh...

it's a shame that the ad jingle is going the way of the buffalo nickel... I'm not happy that Bally's advert was playing Pink's Get the Party Started... etc. etc. etc.

[quadro2000]

Originally posted by Cynthetiq

it's a shame that the ad jingle is going the way of the buffalo nickel... I'm not happy that Bally's advert was playing Pink's Get the Party Started... etc. etc. etc.

I'm torn on the ad jingle thing. While I was always fascinated by writers who could get those things stuck in your head, I also don't like the fact that the other day, I was sitting at the table, and out of nowhere belted out "Mama's got the magic of...Clorox!"



Now Tom's Diner is in my head.....

[lurkette]

Originally posted by quadro2000
...one day we will lift up our chin, and grin, and say...

GODDAMMIT!!

The....sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
to
tomorrow
come what may

TOMORROW
TOMORROW
I LOVE YA
TOMORROW
YOU'RE ONLY A DAY AWAY

Ok, now I have to go download that damn song.
grumble grumble
Mean dirty trick, that.

[Cynthetiq]

Originally posted by lurkette
GODDAMMIT!!

The....sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
to
tomorrow
come what may

TOMORROW
TOMORROW
I LOVE YA
TOMORROW
YOU'RE ONLY A DAY AWAY

Ok, now I have to go download that damn song.
grumble grumble
Mean dirty trick, that.

that's almost like Cartman from SouthPark with his Come Sail Away thing.... he can't hear a piece of the song without continuing to sing it all the way to the end.

[ARTelevision]

yes, I wage an ongoing campaign regarding the unavoidably overwhelming influence of mass media upon our consciousness...
thanks for the ammo.

[Frowning Budah]

It happens to all the time. Usually comes to me in my sleep. Fortunately doesn't seem to last too long, but can be real annoying when you are trying to sleep and the same thing keeps repeating again and again.

[battlemouth]

i tend to get old childrens song i used to listen to stuck in my head such as everyones buddy raffi

[lurkette]

Originally posted by Cynthetiq
that's almost like Cartman from SouthPark with his Come Sail Away thing.... he can't hear a piece of the song without continuing to sing it all the way to the end.

Great. I am Eric Cartman.

But I'm the one who's gonna be all buff on teevee.

And I do love me some cheesy poofs.

[fallen_angel]

my friends always get 'we all live in a yellow submarine a yellow submarine a yellow submarine. . . ' personally me i got trapt still frame in my head these days

[cchris]

I just cant stop this Dandy's song from goin round in my head at the moment.

A long time ago
We used to be friends but I
Haven't thought of you lately at all
If ever again A greeting I send to you
Short and sweet to the soul I intend
Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh
Come on now honey
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when
You're good to go
Come on now sugar
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when

It's something I said
Or someone I know
Or you called me up
Maybe I wasn't home
Now everybody needs some time
And everybody knows
The rest of it's fine
And everybody knows now
Come on now sugar
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when
You're good to go
Come on now honey
Bring it on bring it on yeah
Just remember me when
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhhh
Eeeeaaaahhhhhh
Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh
A long time ago
We used to be friends but I
Haven't thought of you lately at all
If ever again A greeting I send to you
Short and sweet to the soul I intend

We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
A long time ago
We used to be friends
Hoho ohohoh Hoho ohohohHoho ohohoh Hoho ohohoh

[quadro2000]

Okay, got one for you. The Golden Girls theme. "Thank you for being a friend...."

Take THAT!

[Flippy]

Originally posted by fallen_angel
my friends always get 'we all live in a yellow submarine a yellow submarine a yellow submarine. . . '

Me too

Yeah, for some reason, I tend to get the most annoying songs stuck in my head. It happens very easily to me too... I don't even have to hear the song for it to get stuck in my head, I only have to think about it. It drives my friends nuts, but its fun for me!

OLD MCDONALD HAD A FARM
E I E I O!!!!!!!!!!!

[anleja]

The bassline from "When the bullet hits the bone" was in my head for a month. I couldn't place what song it was from either, which made it worse. No, it's coming on again!

[Nimbletoe]

I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread. Now i'm for some reason trying to get a song stuck in my head

[rogue49]

I've got a thread in music that asks this question.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ighlight=stuck

[rainheart]

See there's just another good reason to avoid watching tv or commercials... they get inside your head!!!

[rev_skarekroe]

I first read this as "When a Brain Grabs A Tuna And Won't Let Go".

I like my version better.

sk

[Cynthetiq]

Originally posted by rogue49
I've got a thread in music that asks this question.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ighlight=stuck

now you know why...

and knowing is half the battle!

oh crap... not taglines.. is there a study on quoting tag lines?

[seizei]

good god this happens to me all the time... luckily I sing while I work often, and pass on each stuck tune to my co-workers, then get another one stuck in my head later. They're grown to hate me for it

It's like I have some weird radio station in my head - I 'll be working, then all of a sudden start singing the theme from Fraggle Rock or some equally obscure song. I don't mind so much though passes the time at work

[Thraeryn]

I've always said that, were I stuck in a sensory deprivation chamber, only my vast repetoire of songs would be able to save my sanity. There is such an insane jukebox in my head that they could probably keep me in there for a month without my getting bored. :P

Thankfully, if I'm listening to another song when someone mentions a particularly catchy tune, the catchy tune doesn't grab hold.

[water_boy1999]

Hate to ruin everyone's day, but I just wanted to firmly plant Barney's theme song into you......


I love you,
You love me,
we're a happy family.......

[Unknown Poster]

If you are susceptible to this happening, here is a word of warning.

Do Not Ever Watch "The Wiggles".

My daughter watches it and invariably one of their songs will be stuck in my head for days.

[maynard0012]

I want candy, bubblegum and taffy.
Skip to the sweet shop with my girlfriend, Sandy.
Got my pennies saved. so I'm a sugar daddy.
I'm her Hume Cronyn, she my Jessica Tandy.
I want candy!
I need candy, any kind will do
Don't care if it's nutritious or FDA approved.
It's gonna make me spaz like bobcats on booze,
A hyperactive juice that only I can produce
To use a giant drill bore straight into hell
Releasing ancient demons from their sleep-forever spell
So they can walk upon the earth and get resituated
And hawk the diet pills MC Pee Pants has created!
Mess up the mix, mix up the mess
Come on down, yo here's the address
6-1-2 Wharf Avenue
6-1-2 Wharf Avenue

[Holo]

When this happens to me I change the song to deliberately make the lyrics as perverted as possible. It amuses me and it ceases to plague but becomes an inside joke with myself. Of course the downside is busting out laughing at the worst times.

[MichaelFarker]

If I can finish the song, it allows me to reclaim that rebellious grey matter.

ARTelevision, that's interesting. When I saw the first paid advertisement on a bathroom stall door I began to seriously think about this very thing. Have you ever read _The Diamond Age_?


anleja, I think that's "Twighlight Zone" by Golden Earing.
According to Jim Keefer at LyricsXP and LyricsDepot, the words are as follows.

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room
there's a guy starting to realize that eternal
fate has turned its back on him. It's 2 a.m.

It's two a.m.
The fear has gone
I'm sitting here waitin'
The gun's still warm
Maybe my connection is tired of taking chances
Yeah there's a storm on the loose
Sirens in my head
Wrapped up in silence
All circuits are dead
Cannot decode my whole life spins into a frenzy

Help I'm steppin' into the twilight zone
The place is a madhouse
Feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved
Under moon and star
Where am I to go
Now that I've gone too far
(repeat)
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

I'm falling down a spiral
Destination unknown
Double crossed messenger, all alone
Can't get no connection
Can't get through where are you

Well the night weighs heavy
On his guilty mind
This far from the borderline
When the hitman comes
He knows damn well
He has been cheated And he says
(repeat Chorus)

[quadro2000]

I was making lunches in the kitchen when Quadrette called out to me.

"Hey honey? Know what's in my head right now?"

"What?" (she has no idea of this thread)

"You can ring my belllllllll, ring my bell (my bell)..."

And instantly, the other song in my head disappeared (damned if I know what it is now) and "Ring My Bell" entered it.

[paddyjoe]

Y'know it's funny. Everytime I run across an uncle phil post somewhere, a different song gets stuck up there for an hour or so.


THANK YOU UNCLE PHIL!!!

[Reese]

Do NOT watch 1 hit wonders on VH1 if you have this problem...

I get the tune from one of the trinity movies stuck in my head... the first few notes are almost identical to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" so you never know which once your gonna end up whistling.

I also get Hey Micky song stuck in my head.. It just doesnt sound right when a guy sings it...

[CapnWaffle]

That's a pretty interesting article. I'm quite amused they mentioned the "I'm a Pepper" jingle.

As for songs I've got stuck in my head? One of the worst offenders is Kermit the Frog's "Rainbow Connection."

The lovers, the dreamers, and Meeeee...

[dy156]

Here's an update on the original article, along with several home remedies described.

link

Oct. 29, 2003 / Updated 8:30 p.m. ET
Attack of the earworms: No, we’re not talking about the latest Halloween movie: In this case, “earworms” are songs that get stuck in your head so firmly that you yearn to get them out. We recently ran a report about the study of sticky songs, conducted by University of Cincinnati marketing professor James Kellaris — and hundreds of readers responded with lists of their own most pernicious earworms, as well as their tried and true methods for removing them (such as drowning them out with the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song).
Several pointed out that the term “earworm” goes back to the German term “Ohrwurm,” with the same meaning. A goodly number of people said they welcomed having the music in their heads, and a similar number said they were plagued by earworms and felt relieved to hear that there were other sufferers. Here’s a sampling of the feedback:
Brian Stolte, Richmond Hill, Ontario: “I was in Home Depot on Saturday looking for screws, bolts, etc., and that annoying song, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ (you know ... ‘I love you, baby, and if it’s quite alright, I need you, baby, to warm a lonely night. I love you, baby’ ... etc.) was on the store PA system. Well, long after that cheesy song was over I found myself humming, singing and whistling it. Another shopper — very embarrassing — caught me. I then went to another aisle and I was looking for some other items and another guy next to me was humming, singing and whistling it. He realized I caught him and he quickly scurried away in embarrassment.
“Needless to say, that song was playing in my head all day and night Saturday, all day and night Sunday, and all day yesterday when I was at work in downtown Toronto. I couldn’t get rid of it. No matter how hard I tried. I tried Zeppelin, Petty, Floyd, Genesis, Sabbath ... nothing worked. I had let some colleagues in on my story because they were wondering why I was singing it, and I wanted to know if they knew who played it. One of them knew immediately it was Frankie Vallie.
“With that new knowledge and the Maple Leafs blowing a 2-0 lead to Atlanta, at some point last night the song left my head ... until today, when another colleague mentioned Home Depot!!!”
K.C.: “I lived a personal hell for an entire summer years ago because of one song, and occasionally do still lapse into this most dreaded of earworms. Same song — 30 years later. It falls into the category of the Top 40 number you wouldn’t be caught dead listening to at home. And the song is ... (I’m almost afraid to type the words) ... ‘Kung Fu Fighting.’
“I’ve never actually known who sings it, nor do I care to know for fear of having to hunt that singer down at some future point.
“One other springs to mind but to a lesser degree — the always irritating ‘It’s My Party’ by Lesley Gore.
“Thanks for the chance to vent these demons. I only hope it doesn’t backfire and they will come back to haunt me once again. I’m putting a garland of garlic around my stereo tonight just to be safe.”
Pam: “I have been tormented by intermittent and varying songs stuck in my head for a couple of years now. It bothers me when I have to study for exams, and it is horrible because it is impossible to avoid music since it is played in every coffee shop, department store, restaurant, gym, even in friends’ cars.
“If I try to ‘hide out,’ I end up hearing hold music when I make phone calls. I have been on various types of medication for obsessive compulsive disorder, but none of them help for this problem. If you find a ‘cure’ for earworms, please let me know!”
Tricia: “When I was in the sixth grade, I had an earworm stick with me for nearly two days. When I told my art teacher about it, she said that you could be rid of it singing a different song. She said that if you hum the theme song from ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ out loud, while you focus on something, like looking at a picture or reading a sentence, the song will vanish. You’ll distract yourself long enough to not think of the song, but something else. It really works. To this day I use that point of advice she told me. Even my friends do, too.”
F.P.: “Got an earworm? Here’s how I get rid of them. When that annoying song is running through your head, take a deep breath, relax, and picture the song playing on a turntable, in a cassette deck, CD player, on the radio or television, whatever — then picture yourself with a sledgehammer, smashing the offending device and its song to smithereens! It’s the ultimate satisfaction!”
Catherine: “The only time I get an earworm is during a major exam. The only way to get rid of it is to listen to the worm for a bit, and then switch back to concentrating on the questions.”
Brendan, Toronto: “The absolute best way to end an earworm is to end the song in your mind. It doesn’t have to be a big KISS-type finish complete with ‘flashpots,’ although these are the most fun. Just simply ending it at a logical place will do. ...”
Nancy (Hakima) Biddle: “My remedy I learned from my dad, is to sing ‘God Save the Queen.’ It works, trust me.”
Susie: “Finally I have arrived at a solution for mine. The tune changes from time to time, and whatever it is, I give it a big production. In my mind I picture a sound stage with full orchestra, and then, like in the old musical movies, I allow it to play with full emphasis. Finally, as it comes to the end, there is a complete ending with the last strains fading away, and the song does the same thing ... gone, at last!
“Until the next time, that is...”
Bob K.: “I usually find that if a song is stuck in my head, looking up the unknown lyrics and singing them when I’m home alone helps a lot. ‘Yellow Submarine’ has been stuck in my head for years, unfortunately, so I’m going to look up the lyrics right now and see if that helps.”
Alan Boyle replies: If you want to try this solution, there are many places on the Net where you can look up lyrics — I hesitate to name just one, but any search engine should bring up a selection.
Several song titles that weren’t mentioned in the original article or in the feedback above came up repeatedly. The squeamish should avoid reading the next paragraph.
Multiple votes for most pernicious earworm were cast for: “This Is the Song That Never Ends” ... “Sponge Bob Square Pants” theme ... “Copa Cabana,” by Barry Manilow ... “My Sharona” ... “Meow Mix” jingle ... “The Hamster Dance” ... “I Dream of Jeannie” theme song ... “Hey Jude,” by the Beatles ... “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” ... “Pina Colada” ... “American Pie” ... “Tom’s Diner,” by Suzanne Vega ... “I Drove All Night,” by Celine Dion ... “Without Me,” by Eminem ... and no doubt others that I just couldn’t bear to look at.
Update: I just couldn’t resist adding this follow-up observation from C. Towne of Las Vegas: “The great author Arthur C. Clarke wrote a short story called ‘The Ultimate Melody,’ which I recommend to anyone suffering from earworms. Believe it or not, it could be worse. By the way, no one mentioned my (least) favorite: The obnoxious little song from the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride at Disneyland.”
Actually, “It’s a Small World After All” was included among the top 10 earworms in the Live Vote on the original story, so I didn’t think I needed to bring it up again. You can still register your vote for the song — or other notorious earworms from the University of Cincinnati study.

[Hanxter]

for obvious reasons i will not read the above (or below) replies...
BUT...
i used whistle a few bars of a Christmas carol in the office in july or august and this one guy would pick it up and be whistling/humming/singing it all day long...
then i'd do it again the next day and the next...

[OFKU0]

I hear pop music songs but prefer to listen to the songs I make up in my head.Much more fun and less boring.

[Jervis]

I never get songs I don't like stuck in my head. Can't picture myself singing "TOMORROW, TOMORROW" because that play urks me.

Anyone know the System Of A Down song called Chic'n'Stu? I was singing off the ingredients in the song for an entire week until people beat me senseless for subjecting them to it.

[skysooner]

For fun, I run a sound board at church. We recently started a contemporary service which consists mostly of praise songs with repeated verses and choruses. These things have been sticking in my head which stinks since I don't particularly like them that much.

[tontoom]

Interesting reading. The worst is if you dont know what song you got on your mind.

[Coolidge]

Originally posted by tontoom
Interesting reading. The worst is if you dont know what song you got on your mind.

No the worst is when you don't know it and it's from a car commercial...

tormenting you...

haven't figured it out yet...?

I like watching you squirm...

AUGH

[rockzilla]

I was singing "It's Raining Men" for most of the day at work in a futile attempt to get it out of my head, I did manage to pass it on to a few people though.

[copymachineboy]

In that second article one dude talk about looking up the lyrics to help, and it does. Sometime not necessarily looking up the lyrics but just actually listening to the full song, because sometimes I'll only get like 5-6 words stuck, or I'll get my verses mixed up.

Another thing that happens is on occasion I'll get a snippet of sound locked in with something visual. So if I hear that part of the song, I automatically mentally see what I was looking at before and vice versa.

[Jimbob666]

I find that the surest way to get a song stuck in my head is to turn it off midway through the song. Anyone else experience this?