Earworms

Right now do you have a song, or even worse a snippet of a song, stuck in your head? I have two alternating: Firework by Katy Perry and Soul Sister by Train.

I now officially despise these songs with a loathing formerly reserved for I've Never Been to Me, a song that becamse a big hit when released (for the second time) in 1982 by a one hit wonder named Charlene. That song contains such magic lyrics as, "I've been undressed by kings and I've seen some things that a woman ain't s'posed to see."

It's not that they aren't good songs. Honestly, I have no perspective now on whether they're good, great, or dreck-awful. Any affection I might have formed for their bouncy appeal is eradicated by the fact that they've taken up residence in my head. They're stuck there, not just like creepy worms, but like ticks -- firmly embedded and refusing to let go.

Why couldn't I have truly great songs that I love, like anything by Springsteen, on an internal endless loop? I'd far rather listen to Show a little faith, there's magic in the night. You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright. And that's alright with me from Thunder Road, than this:

Hey soul sister, ain't that Mister Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move's no fair you know.

It's nearly impossible to avoid this song when it's now used on every other television commercial. The American Idol finalists sang it as a group a week or so ago. That made me eternally grateful that I was watching it on my DVR and fast forwarded faster than you could say, "Soul Sister again? Shoot me now."

I fair a little better with the Katy Perry song, probably because I only know one line and that's the one that's stuck.

Cause baby you're a firework.

Unfortunately, even one line relentlessly pops into my head.

Look at that bird flying by.

Baby you're a firework

Add two tsps of . . . Baby you're a firework

I need to write a Baby you're a firework blog post. What should I write Baby, you're a about today? firework.

See, it's pure torture. Every time I think I've stopped hearing them, another television commercial for a movie or tv show plays one of them and triggers the earworm yet again.

I'm not the only one annoyed to all hell about it either. I Googled for which ads use the Train song and found a number of blogs who want the plug pulled, too. For the record, using the song doesn't work to reinforce the ad message. I couldn't tell you what products are being touted in the commercials because I'm desperately trying to tune out the song.

Both songs even infiltrated Glee. No, I did not download the cast's versions to my iPod.

I think the only thing worse would be a mashup of both songs so that I had to listen to both of them over and over and over. It might go something like this:

Hey Soul Sister, ain't that Mister Mister? You're a firework, what a perk! The way you move's not fair, you jerk.

Ayieeeee. Now I'll probably have that worming its way through my brain, too.

Got an earworm of your own? Care to share?