Perhaps it’s the song Baby Shark, or maybe it’s a Beatles tune. The source doesn’t matter, but at some point many of us suffer from ear worms. You know, those times when you get a (usually) catchy tune stuck in your head for extended periods of time and can’t get it to leave.
What are some songs that you’re particularly susceptible to to get ear worms from?
How long do ear worms typically last for you? Any particularly long episodes?
Have you ever found a way to ‘treat’ an ear worm, that is, do something to get it out of your head?
The only cure for me is to replace it with another ear worm. My wife says she can get rid of one by listening to the song all the way through a couple times.
I have found that I can irritate people (of my generation) by just mentioning Afternoon Delight and speaking a few lines. I really think someone should turn it into a rap song so I could irritate another generation.
Started out this morning feeling so polite . . . lets get down to some bitching afternoon delight.
Good for her. That, however, has never worked for me. Believe me, I’ve tried to ‘get it out of my system’ before and if anything it’s made it worse and reinforced what was already going on.
Resolve to the tonic is my general approach to ridding myself of them.
My worst earworm was when I was about 11 or 12. For 2 whole weeks I could not get the theme song to the 1960s incredible Hulk cartoon out of my head. I genuinely thought I was going insane.
I try to force earworms out by mentally replaying “Sweet City Woman” by the Stampeders in my head. If that song gets stuck in my head, I don’t mind.
The worst earworm I ever had was the Woody Woodpecker Song. Like three days of it. I was ready to jump off a building headfirst so I could crush it out of my brain. I still remember that and it was forty years ago.
My entire life is this way and I’ve become resigned to it. I’m on the third day of Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye.) God knows why. I haven’t even heard that song in years.
Someday I’ll be found catatonic in a corner, drooling and muttering the lyrics to Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.
I get the impression some are more susceptible to this condition than others. I consider myself high risk, as I’ve had instances of it stemming from everything from margarine commercials, schmaltzy big band tunes, and children’s songs. It’s uncommon for me to get an ear worm that consists of music that I would consider particularly good.
I wish the opposite were true. It’s usually some top 40 song form long ago that I didn’t particularly like in the first place. Which reminds me:
It’s 2022. I walk into grocery stores in NYC and they’re still piping in pop songs from the 70s. WTF? This is how I wind up with REO Fucking Speedwagon songs bouning around my cranium.
Mrs. solost, back when we were dating, said to sing (either out loud or in your head) the Suzanne Vega song “My Name is Luka”. It’s a good enough song to remove the current ear worm in your brain, but not so catchy that it will become a new ear worm. It seems to work!
I mentioned Beatles in the OP because I’ve gotten ear worms from their music on multiple occasions. Does that mean I get to hear something great like ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Something’? Noooo, if I get a Beatles earworm you can bet it’ll be something along the lines of ‘Wild Honey Pie’ or ‘Ob‐La‐Di, Ob‐La‐Da’
My mom knew I had a fondness for old cartoons, so she gave me a cd with some of the worst. That’s where I caught the theme song for the Little Lulu cartoons. Jesus it was horrible. I’d wake up with the song already playing.
That’s me. I have to spend hours singing a “Total earworm, but at the same time a great song”. Thanks for all the suggestions here!
(Now I can’t wait to get an earworm and try them out… no, Universe, I’m just kidding!)
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I knew a guy who would do long bike rides through mountains or deserts with his best friend. He’d catch up to said friend, and as he was passing sing a line of a Certifiably Bad Song (he mentioned “Havin’ My Baby”), then pedal like hell to get ahead.
And try to stay ahead, because as soon as he got passed, he’d be earwormed by his friend.
As several others have mentioned, my cure for a persistent earwrom is to listen to a particular song – in my case, “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. That always banishes the other song from my brain.
