Yes, hundreds.
Peter Murphy, “Cuts You Up.” Started playing it a ton during my most recent romantic fiasco, haven’t gotten sick of it yet (been almost a month now). Once a song gets onto my “mythology” playlist it usually never leaves.
All the time. The way it used to work when I was in college was I would play a song endlessly, if not totally on repeat, then close to it. My roommates, without fail, would begin by hating the song or thinking it was weird. By the time I was all burnt out on it though, they would’ve come around. I believe a chart was drawn reflecting the declining and increasing levels of interest.
Anyway, I heard Tusk by Fleetwood Mac a couple weeks ago for the first time and was completely blown away. I knew Fleetwood Mac was more than just Stevie Nicks, but I never thought they could sound like that. I’ve listened to it twice while composing this reply!
Yep.
Most recently it was Warren Zevon’s Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. It popped into my head one day in the shower and I started singing it. Couldn’t remember one of the lines, so of course I had to go listen to it. Then I listened again because I’d forgotten what an amazingly awesome song it was. This led to repeated listenings and shower renditions over the next week or so.
And now I’m afraid it’s happening again.
Right now it’s Johnny Cash covering Hurt. In the past it’s been things like Diamonds and Rust (Judas Priest cover) and Vamo alla Flamenco by the Black Mages. I don’t know what makes a song stick on repeat for me, just that some songs will take up residence in my head.
I actually have a playlist on my iTunes titled Obsessions. I change the songs when new ones come on my horizon and old ones fade away, but it’s never more than 10 songs long. It plays on shuffle+repeat, so I can listen to them repeatedly. Currently contains:
Climax- Usher
Say- John Mayer
Someone that I Used to Know- Gotye (?sp)
Brand New- Keisha Cole
I Wont Give Up- Jason Mraz
Fool for You- Melanie Fiona and CeeLo Green
Turn Up the Music- Chris Brown
Ass on the Floor- Dirty Money
Avalance- Shawn Colvin
Fear- Sarah McLaughlin
A few real obsessions:
Diamondhead, by Roxy Music/Phil Manzanera - YouTube. Back in 1990, when I only had a cassette player in my car, I recorded this onto a tape non-stop. I didn’t want to wait for it to rewind!
The Mummer’s Dance, by Loreena McKennitt. Totally hypnotized by it. Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance Official video - YouTube
Alegria, Cirque de Soleil - YouTube. About the same scenario as Diamondhead. Obsessed for about 3 months…would listen to it nonstop going in to work, and coming home. Started about 1.5 years ago. Now, I only *need *to hear it once going out, once coming in. Any more than that is just for pleasure!
Oh God yeah!
Heart of Mine - Dylan
Talent Show - 'Mats
Madame George (Bang Masters version) - Van Morrison
In My Hour of Darkness - Gram Parsons
Birds - Ronstadt/Young
Steppin Out - Lennon
Bring It On Home - Cooke’s/Animals
Different Drum - Stone Poneys
Billy Gnosis - Bad Religion
Girl Friend - Modern Lovers
Walking In The Rain - Ronettes
Walk Away Renee - Left Banke
Many, many other. I’ve always had song obsessions over the years.
When I was 12 I played the videos for 3 songs over and over when I was home alone:
“If You Leave” by OMD
“I Wanna Be A Cowboy” by Boys Don’t Cry
and
“Captain of her Heart” by Double.
Over and over and over and over…
SO, this is a bit of a Zombie thread, right. I just now checked for my participation in it, which I had forgotten about. I mentioned Rosetta Stoned by Tool. Two days ago, I posted in a thread about the best rock drummer of the past 20 years, and mentioned Danny Carey of Tool. Surfing around led me to a great video of him on YouTube playing along with Rosetta Stoned, which I watched again this morning, and is once again my earworm this very moment.
Hmm…probably says more about my sporadic participation on this board than anything, but still a neat little sequence of events 
UGH - caught in a Zombie thread (see the date on the post above this one.)
EDIT: unwashed brain beat me to it.
Not a song, but an entire album. I listened to Poe’s album Haunted for about one full year. Something about the lyrics and music resonated deeply with me, and I couldn’t stop listening. I still love that album.
My best friend just ruined a song for me this way! She flew out to visit me for the weekend, and upon discovering that I had the song “Ours” from Taylor Swift, she insisted that I play it every time we got in the car, as soon as we got in the car.
My most recent obsession is “You Look Good in my Shirt” from Keith Urban, but the longest-running obsession with a song that I ever had was with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Aerosmith. It came out when I was 11, and I was probably about 15 before I stopped freaking out every time I heard the song. Given the age, it kind of makes sense that it was my longest obsession … pre-teens can develop obsessions like none other.
The acoustic version of “We Are Young” by Fun, featuring Janelle Monáe.
My most recent one was a three-fer: I wanted to hear Blue Oyster Cult’s I Love the Night, Shooting Shark, and Take Me Away, in that order, over and over and over and…
Obsessed with a singer, sure.
A song? It can be fun if it has lots of covers and you can compare them.
A single track? …I don’t know, maybe to some degree.
Thats hillarious..“Tusk” was largely consider a bust when it was released.. I had to give it to the Mac.. that didn’t anything like anything they had done..
For me a bit ago it was The Bee Gee’s “Nights on Broadway” specifically the live cut on youtube from Midnight Special.. for off and on reasons its “Father Figure” by George Micheal..
Usually its much harder fare for me.. but the sentimental stuff brings me back again and again.. like “Driver 8” by REM..
Nice one on Double. i put that up on my facebook page once and got a lot of responses.. what a great f’n song..
What about an entire album? I’ve been listening to 88:88 by Makeup and Vanity Set on continuous autoloop for the past three days.
What’d I Say - Ray Charles
Keep-a-Knockin’ - Little Richard
Roadrunner - Bo Diddley
Just One Kiss - Chuck Wilis; Cookie & the Cupcakes
Time Has Come Today - The Chambers Brothers
Graceland - Paul Simon
What’s Up - Four Non-Blondes
Jersey Girl - Tom Waits; Bruce Springsteen (live)
Positively Fourth Street - Bob Dylan