Stuck on replay

This past week, I have had the new “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha stuck in my head.

Regardless of whether I thought this was a good or bad song, it hasn’t left the depths of my brain since I first heard it on the radio. 

It’s an annoying yet common problem, but how does it happen?

It isn’t just lyrical songs, but also jingles or tunes that bombard our ears and hibernate there until the next more annoying one kicks the old one out. 

James Kellaris at the University of Cincinnati has studied this problem since 2001 and has dealt with addicting songs that get “stuck in your head.” Kellaris tagged the weird phenomenon as “earworms.”

According to his study, “the name implies an earworm is a song that seems to ‘crawl in’ through our ears and borough in our brain.”

The study has proven a somewhat obvious notion that songs with repetitive lyrics or chords are more inclined to be addictive.

That might be why “Down” by Jay Sean is still at the top of the charts and has been since the middle of August.

Everyone gets earworms, but do some get them more than others?

Not surprisingly, Kellaris’s studies said musicians tend to get songs stuck in their head more often than non-musicians.

In addition, women get them more than men, and worriers get them more than people who are more relaxed. 

Obviously, there is no cure to having the earworms, but the study gives a few tips to get a song “unstuck:” Replace the song with another song, focus on something else or walk to a tempo that isn’t the song in your head.

With that said, here’s two lists of songs and commercial jingles that can get instantly stuck in your head.

Caution: I am not responsible for any song on the list that might trigger an earworm.  

Erica’s Earworms

1.     “Poker Face” – Lady Gaga
2.     “Down” – Jay Sean
3.     “I Gotta Feeling” – Black Eyed Peas
4.     “FreeCreditReport.com” jingle
5.     “Viva Viagra” jingle
6.     “Five Dollar Foot-Long” jingle

‘The Playlist From Hell’ from Kellaris’ 2003 survey

1.     “Other” – it’s idiosyncratic
2.     “Chili’s (Baby Back Ribs)” jingle
3.     “Who Let the Dogs Out?” –Baha Men
4.     “We Will Rock You” – Queen
5.     Kit-Kat bar jingle
6.     “Mission Impossible” Theme
7.     ”Y.M.C.A.” – Village People
8.     “Whoomp! There It Is” –
by Tag Team
9.     “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” –
The Tokens
10.     “It’s a Small World After All” theme