# Listening to a song over and over again: why do we do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064 "2005-02-26T23:16:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/1 "2005-02-26T23:16:19Z")
I’m sure all of you have done this at one time or another: You find a song you like and you listen to it over and over again. I have listened to a single song 15-20 times in a row. Is there a psychological or even physical reason to do this? It’s like the song is the audio version of crack. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/2 "2005-02-26T23:19:36Z")
maybe we can relate. maybe its catchy. i know for me, the only way to get a song out of my head is to listen to it a few times. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/3 "2005-02-26T23:44:00Z")
For me right now, it’s Shania Twain’s “That don’t impress me much.” I don’t like the rest of her stuff (it don’t impress me much) But I just love that song, and I could listen to it seemingly forever. But I’m not going to buy a CD just for one song. There are a couple of radio stations that I like that play it a few times a day, so I’ll just listen to them after I’m tired of listening to my CDs (usually Pink Floyd) and I’ll hear it two or three times a day. Maybe it’s better that I can’t play it whenever I want, so I won’t get really sick of it. Although on reflection…NAH! ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/4 "2005-02-26T23:47:09Z")
Something about the song appeals strongly to whatever part of our brain tells us is Right and Good about music. Some songs are just ‘songs’, they go in one ear and out the other, and some songs demand to be heard and examined and dissected and relistened-to. I hope scientists never find out what it is, because then music will have lost some of its magic. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/5 "2005-02-26T23:50:23Z")
I wonder why I do this too. If I find a song that appeals to me, I’ll listen to it, and only it for a couple of days. Then I get sick of it and never want to hear it again. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/6 "2005-02-27T21:57:35Z")
To play air guitar (or air drums, keyboards, etc.) while listening to it! ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/7 "2005-02-27T22:20:48Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > I hope scientists never find out what it is, because then music will have lost some of its magic. Why would that be? Just because they’d be able to tell you why something is, doesn’t invalidate the feelings you experience. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/8 "2005-02-27T22:38:33Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > Why would that be? Just because they’d be able to tell you why something is, doesn’t invalidate the feelings you experience. I was thinking in terms of the ability to replicate it flawlessly from a set of known parameters. Greatness is subjective, but right now we don’t really know what makes a song great - it happens at random and perhaps totally by happy accident. If there was a formula for making great songs, everybody would do it, and it would become boring and repetitive, and utterly un-magical. Paul McCartney, who has written an awful lot of hit songs (in the past, not recently), has said pretty much the same thing. He doesn’t know where his ability comes from, and he doesn’t want to know, because then it wouldn’t be magic anymore. It’s the difference between knowing “If I just do this and this and this, it’ll be great” and having a song just fall out of your fingertips that is great the first time and better every time you play it. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/9 "2005-02-27T22:51:45Z")
I’m a musician, so I’ll often listen to a song over and over just to get the arrangement burned into my brain. That process is separate from the process of _learning to play_ the song, and even comes before learning how to play the song. Once I understand the arrangement, then I’ll play it over and over while actually figuring out how to play it. And then once i’ve learned how to play it I don’t actually listen to it much any more. Because I can play it for myself. But I don’t think that’s what the OP is asking about. I can remember my younger sister, when we were kids, buying a 45 RPM single and playing it over and over and over until I was sick of hearing it. I’ve never really done that myself, outside of trying to learn how to play a song, so I don’t really know the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/10 "2005-02-28T02:39:15Z")
Is it kind of liking something so much you want to get your “fill”? Sometimes a single serving isn’t enough to produce satiety? Especially with pop music, with its supposed three-minute average length. I sometimes listen to a song over and over until I can sing it unaccompanied, until I learn it inside and out. (I’m a slow learner.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/11 "2005-02-28T02:46:29Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Especially with pop music, with its supposed three-minute average length. I’ve listened to 7-8 minute songs repeatedly as well as shorter ones. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/12 "2005-02-28T03:17:56Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I’m sure all of you have done this at one time or another: > > You find a song you like and you listen to it over and over again. I have listened to a single song 15-20 times in a row. > > Is there a psychological or even physical reason to do this? > > It’s like the song is the audio version of crack. I do it when I’ve identified a particular song I really like so I can near-memorize it. Most recently, “Guilt is a Useless Emotion” off of the new New Order album (ssh. I’ll pay for it to be legal when it’s released…). I can tell it’s going to be a moderately-played track at the sort of clubs I go to, so by having it down pat I can really kick it out on the dance floor without having to think too much. Other songs I do to memorize the lyrics. When (a) nobody’s around or (b) I’m on stage with a mike and a few drinks in, I’m rather given to singing along. If you just try to follow the bouncing ball you’ll never have the right feel for the song, which is why a lot of people sound awful on karaoke nights. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/13 "2005-02-28T16:13:42Z")
It’s pretty common for anyone who learns an instument to practice for hours. And in grade school we would sing the same song many times in a row to prepare for a audience. I think it’s no different than kids wanting to hear the same fairy tale over and over. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/14 "2005-03-01T00:06:07Z")
I once became entranced with “9 to 5” by Sheena Easton because I found the rhythm in the verses to be clever, and the background singers well. I listened to it maybe twelve times in one sitting. So, along this line, if it’s a song that I haven’t heard before, and find it or some part about it clever, there’s a good chance it’ll have the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/15 "2005-03-01T00:27:05Z")
> [@According to Pliny](#): > > It’s pretty common for anyone who learns an instument to practice for hours. > And in grade school we would sing the same song many times in a row to prepare for a audience. > I think it’s no different than kids wanting to hear the same fairy tale over and over. I understand this. I have a friend who’s in a Rolling Stones cover band. He was going insane trying to learn “Midinight Rambler” and ended up listening to it 40-50 times in one sitting! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/16 "2005-03-01T00:30:33Z")
> [@Joe K](#): > > I once became entranced with “9 to 5” by Sheena Easton. :eek: Surely you mean Dolly Parton? I’ve never heard a Sheena Easton version. Unless you’re thinking of “Morning Train”… (\*my baby takes the morning train/ he works from nine to five and then/ he takes another home again/ to find me waiting for him…) Anyway, I find that I do the play over and over thing when I either find a song that resonates with me completely, or has a musical phrase or vocal embellishment in one verse or refrain that strikes me as being absolutely perfect. Then again, I also made a mix tape that was nothing but “(Goonies Are) Good Enough” by Cyndi Lauper on both sides when I was 12… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/17 "2005-03-01T00:36:29Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > :eek: > > Surely you mean Dolly Parton? I’ve never heard a Sheena Easton version. Unless you’re thinking of “Morning Train”… (\*my baby takes the morning train/ he works from nine to five and then/ he takes another home again/ to find me waiting for him…) Sheena’s song was called “9 to 5” in the UK, but since Dolly had a song with the same title, Sheena’s was renamed “Morning Train (nine to five)” to avoid confusion. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Westphal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@James\_Westphal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Westphal)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-a-song-over-and-over-again-why-do-we-do-it/292064/18 "2005-03-01T06:52:18Z")
I think it’s the novelty of the experience. When my brother was discovering rock and roll, at about 15, he’d play a new CD all the way through if he liked it, and when it stopped, hit play again. You want to acquaint yourself with this new thing that sounds so great… you can’t do it on the radio, they play it once and it’s gone (well, for the most part)