Those Malignant Musical Tumours Lodging, Growing In Your Brain!
May 8, 2002 5:02 AM   Subscribe

Those Malignant Musical Tumours Lodging, Growing In Your Brain! I came across this bulletin board while seeking to update two of my favourite 2001 posts: the May 10 and the October 10 threads about earworms - those annoying, infectious songs that get stuck in your brain and slowly destroy it. Here's a working link to the relevant article, since the one on this last post is broken. [My AAARGH! list inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso (89 comments total)
 
I've tried to avoid the well-known cancers like Steve Miller's "Abracadabra"; anything by Abba("Dancing Queen!"); The Beatles' "Ob La Di Ob La Da"; the whole Manilow body of work(Well you came and you gave without takin', but I sent you away, oh Mandy)or that "Barbie Girl" song, in the hope that some fresh earworms could be exhumed.

Adrian Gurvitz - Gonna Write A Classic("Gonna write it in an attic");
Jim Diamond - I Should Have Known Better;
Robert Palmer - A Bad Case Of Loving You("Doctor, doctor, give me the news...I know you like it, you like it on top");
Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill("Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, I could see the city lights...my heart going boom boom boom");
Chris de Burgh - The Lady In Red("is dancing with me...")
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall("We don't need no education; we don't need no thought control")
Mozart - Ein Klein Nachtmusik;
Queen - Bicycle("I want to ride my bi-ci-col...");
Soul Asylum - Runaway Train("Call you up in the middle of the night...");
Olivia Newton John - Physical("I wanna get physical, physical...);
Sting - An Englishman In New York("I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien, I'm an Englishman in New York, Whoow whooow");
Phil Collins - Sussudio(hold me);
Los Dos Rio - Macarena("Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena, que tu cuerpo es pa'darle alegria y cosa buena...eh Macarena!");
Devo - Whip It("Whip it up, whip it good").

I've saved the worst for last:

Alphaville - Forever Young("Do you really want to live forever? Forever and ever...forever young...")

May God forgive me.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:07 AM on May 8, 2002


Miami Sound Machine - Conga

C'mon, shake your body baby, do the conga
I know you can't control yourself any longer
posted by jeremias at 5:12 AM on May 8, 2002


"I don't want anybody else,
when I think about you
I touch myself, oh oh oh..."
posted by quonsar at 5:18 AM on May 8, 2002


Yes, We Have No Bananas.

(I suppose I'm showing my age.)

(Gimme a C, a bouncy C)
posted by pracowity at 5:27 AM on May 8, 2002


I don't get the whole concept of earworms. Most ("Whip It"?!?!?) of the songs just have a good hook. So what? Is there really anybody going around with a Soul Asylum song stuck in their head?

Much more interesting is the question of The Tune -- the one that's hardwired into people's heads, and there's really just one: "If I Only Had A Brain." Doubt me? Ask someone to whistle a song, any song. 90% of them will whistle this song.

Please report back with your results.
posted by luser at 5:44 AM on May 8, 2002


A friend of mine and I have elevated this pursuit to the level of sport over the last few years. I'm not sure why anyone would want to hear me sing, but you have been warned.
posted by machaus at 5:50 AM on May 8, 2002


On having a brain: that's the song my girlfriend most often whistles when she feels like whistling. Well, that or baby elephant march.

Personally, I think that "If I only had a brain" is more appropriate ;-)
posted by djfiander at 5:54 AM on May 8, 2002


I ignored your warning, machaus. And now I can't get your singing out of my head! It's my fault but I'm paying a BIG price for my indiscretion.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 5:58 AM on May 8, 2002


machaus, thanks for the warning but there is no way you could possibly prepare anyone for the sound of you singing "Hello". I honestly think you have the worst singing voice I have ever heard. I have to hand it to you. That was beautiful.
posted by iconomy at 6:05 AM on May 8, 2002


Just like Cartman in South Park, I get stuck on Come Sail Away, by Styx. I still love the song, it likes to wear out it's welcome.

On preview, I've never heard a more rousing rendition of Desperado. I believe you've captured the very essence of the song, machaus.
posted by ashbury at 6:10 AM on May 8, 2002


The theme from Heidi.

Doo da da da, da da da dee,
Dum dum dee dum dum dee doo,
Doo da da da, da da da dee,
Dum dum dum, dum dum dum dum, dee doooooo......
posted by Spoon at 6:21 AM on May 8, 2002


"Time Passages" and "Year of the Cat," both by world champion earwormer Al Stewart.
posted by rcade at 6:33 AM on May 8, 2002


"The Teaches of Peaches" by Peaches. Don't listen unless you wanna have it stuck in your head for weeks
posted by BentPenguin at 6:37 AM on May 8, 2002


Both the sample and a couple of verses from Freshco's early-90's single "4 at a Time" are a continual subject of torture for me.

Also, the hateful chorus of "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)."
posted by BT at 6:45 AM on May 8, 2002


I wouldn't be so hard on machaus's voice; I've heard worse, especially a cappella, from people who are paid to sing. But I would not listen to Derek's rendition of 'Heart of Rock and Roll' for any money. Huey Lewis is the worst piece of acaroid corporate tripe to ever have signed a recording contract. If that song got into my ear tonight, the only thing that would keep me from jumping in front of a bus would be the desperate wish not to have it whirling through my mind as I died.

[Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal...]
posted by pracowity at 6:50 AM on May 8, 2002


Anything by "They Might Be Giants". Curse you Particle-Man. There will be no little bird house built in my soul!
posted by bunktone at 7:19 AM on May 8, 2002


Now I can't stop hearing Irving Cohen saying "gimme a C, a bouncy C".
posted by iconomy at 7:21 AM on May 8, 2002


Over the years I have developed a small but powerful arsenal of insanely catchy good songs expressly for the purpose of driving the insanely catchy bad songs out of my head. Does no one else do this? It seems so necessary in a world where that fucking Jimmy Eat World song can come on the radio at any minute.

(My two big guns are They Might Be Giants' "Ana Ng" (take that, bunktone!) and the English Beat's "Best Friend." They rarely need backup.)
posted by furiousthought at 7:24 AM on May 8, 2002


"Hello my baby, hello my honey . . ."
The singing frog gave me a smile for twenty seconds (the length of the song). Thanks pracowity.

I was reviewing the May 10 thread and a commercial jingle popped into my head. Does anybody remember a milk commerical in Canada that went something along the lines of: "suddenly, the penny dropped, and things became quite clear..." Who can tell me who sang the original song?

Whick reminds me that last week I went searching for "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis, Jr., and "I'd like to teach the world to sing", used in a Coke commercial, also apparently sung by America, and "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head", by Burt Bacharach. I was suffering from some bizarre form of nostalgia. I'm okay, though--it passed. I think I got away relatively unscathed.
posted by ashbury at 7:34 AM on May 8, 2002


Still the hardest song in the world to get out of your head. One listen and I guarantee you'll be singing it all day.

Some second place candidates are "Downtown" by Petula Clark and "Lover's Concerto" by the Toys. I also know that me and my little sister(she was 4, I was 19) used to love watching the Partridge Family reruns on Nick at Nite together and we'd sing along with the theme song at the top of our lungs. Then for the next 2 days "Hello World it's a song that we're singing..."would be reverberating in my mind.

While googling for Partridge Family audio, I found this beautiful thing. Perfect blending of hi-tech and retro. I love the internet, man.
posted by jonmc at 7:37 AM on May 8, 2002


I inflicted Springtime for Hitler on my daughter and now it's stuck there in her head.
posted by Danf at 7:41 AM on May 8, 2002


prac: corporate tripe, ok, but acaroid??.

When it comes to music, my brain is like a cow's digestive system. It can chew on any song for awhile, digest it and later, chew happily on the regurgitated cud for hours.

Usually, the totally sucky songs are spit out early on, it's the good ones that become lodged. Currently on loan: from the musical Peter Pan, "I Won't Grow Up".

I won't grow up.
I won't grow up.
I don't want to go to school.
I don't want to go to school.
Just to learn to be a parrot,
Just to learn to be a parrot,
And recite a silly rule.
And recite a silly rule.
If growing up means it would be
Beneath my dignity to climb a tree,
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up!

Not me!

posted by groundhog at 7:49 AM on May 8, 2002


The weirdest one: Tom Servo's covers of the Pumaman theme song.

"Pu...ma-man... he flies like a moron!"
"When... you want... the flavor of bacon!"
"Now... they're going... to boff in the air, now!"
posted by Foosnark at 7:50 AM on May 8, 2002


Er. Crow, not Servo.
posted by Foosnark at 7:50 AM on May 8, 2002


I had a friend in college, that anytime one of us wanted to piss the other one off, we'd start singing Stairway to Heaven. Not only is it impossible to get out of your head, but it's so damn long that you tend to only get one section going over and over and over. Bah
posted by Ufez Jones at 8:03 AM on May 8, 2002


Well, besides that damnable Girl from Ipanema, I'd have to say:

The theme song from the Banana Splits. Its been deeply rooted in my head now for a few decades.

"Tra la la, la la, la la..."
posted by vacapinta at 8:19 AM on May 8, 2002


I have a friend who seems particularly susceptible to the chorus of "Karma Chameleon," so, naturally, I have to sing it to her at random times. She has not succeeding in killing me yet.
posted by transient at 8:24 AM on May 8, 2002


> prac: corporate tripe, ok, but acaroid??.

Sorry. Acaroid -- resembling a mite or tick. I thought it an appropriate adjective for the sort of music that gets under your skin in a bad way, a bloodsucking arachnid that must be carefully removed or it leaves its filthy barbed proboscis buried under your flesh. Music that is not simply infectious, but is parasitic, verminous. Huey Lewis.
posted by pracowity at 8:24 AM on May 8, 2002


machus must die.

I cannot get "Never Gonna Give You Up" out of my head now.

What's worse, my body has decided to mimic the terrible dancing-in-place by Rick Astley in the video.

Excuse me whilst I go find a sharp object...
posted by grum@work at 8:35 AM on May 8, 2002


Da da da. (insert cheesy casio music)
Da da da. (insert cheesy casio music)
Repeat incessantly for three or so minutes.

The Winnie the Pooh theme. (Fuzzy little cubby all stuffed with fluff, he's...)

For the chronically morose: The sun'll come out--tomorrow! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrooooow, there'll be sun!

Any of the songs from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode. If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about.
posted by precocious at 8:36 AM on May 8, 2002


machaus must die too.

Sorry.

never gonna give, never gonna give...
posted by grum@work at 8:37 AM on May 8, 2002


Thanks. Now, the next time someone refers to the hook of a song, I'll always think of pracowity and his "filthy barbed proboscis".
posted by groundhog at 8:38 AM on May 8, 2002


Who would complain about a song that you can't get out of your head? Your conscious mind may have been so warped by hipness that as to have blocked out the pleasure principle in music, but your subconscious mind still craves "a nice tune," as they put it in Monty Python. Hooks forever!
posted by Faze at 8:42 AM on May 8, 2002


Then there's the song (of which I have NO clue of the name of, or the band that performs it) that aired in a Scope commercial, with a CGI Scope bottle wearing a leopard skin and swinging from vine to vine.

OhOhOh, ohOhOhOhOooooh OhOohOh.

(I've been trying to figure out the artists/song name for over a year now.)
posted by precocious at 8:50 AM on May 8, 2002


"always look on the bright side of life" *whistles*

i tend to get cheesy 80's tunes about girls stuck in my head. pretty woman (walkin' down the street), roxanne (you doan hafta put on the red light!), uptown girl (she's my...), you look wonderful tonite.

hooray for the snazzy radiohead playing in the background at this early hour, else i'd be mad after that panolopy of 80's pap.
posted by carsonb at 8:51 AM on May 8, 2002


I have a weird one:

That Frank Zappa song "I Have Been In You" from Sheik Yerbouti. It has a certain Dr Demento quality to it.

It really started sticking in my head after its very peculiar inclusion on the soundtrack of the Wong Kar Wai film "Happy Together".

I have been in and outta you
And everywhere you want me to.

posted by Kafkaesque at 8:54 AM on May 8, 2002


precocious: "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora.
posted by Danelope at 8:58 AM on May 8, 2002


(And it was a Listerine commercial.)
posted by Danelope at 9:01 AM on May 8, 2002


(And I constantly get Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen" stuck in my head. For days at a time, interrupted only by sleep, and when I wake up I involuntarily say "Thank God that 'Danke Schoen' is no longer stuck in my head" and the cycle begins anew.)
posted by Danelope at 9:03 AM on May 8, 2002


Themes from badly animated cartoons in the 1960s. Not just Spider-Man, but also Rocket Robin Hood and Hercules. (Newton: "I'm glad, I'm glad, to have, to have ...")

You're welcome.
posted by mcwetboy at 9:07 AM on May 8, 2002


An excellent torture device: "Joooohn Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! His name is my name too!" More interesting to me is...why is it that you can be innocently waking up, bathing, driving or any other regular activity and suddenly, your brain is invaded by some random song?
posted by karenh at 9:09 AM on May 8, 2002


I feel oddly complete.

(Thanks!)

(She says as she heads off to download the mp3.)
posted by precocious at 9:09 AM on May 8, 2002


An excellent torture device . . .

AAAAAHHHH! No mas! No mas! I confess!
posted by mcwetboy at 9:10 AM on May 8, 2002


"Pretty Woman" is Roy Orbison, circa 1963.

Kaf: thank you (no, really!) you've just released "Bobby Brown" into my cranium:

Gotta job doin' radio promo
and none of the jocks can even tell I'm a homo...

posted by groundhog at 9:14 AM on May 8, 2002


worst song to get stuck in your head? *GOT* to be "word up" by cameo.
(special bonus: not the original, but an amazing simulation by what looks to be a hyper-nerdy cover band.)

posted by fishfucker at 9:19 AM on May 8, 2002


Since we have started taking our daughter to Gymboree, I find myself absent-mindedly singing various activity songs all the time, especially the ones about blowing bubbles.

If all these bubbles were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh, what a world it would be...

posted by briank at 9:25 AM on May 8, 2002


fishfucker: I disagree. How about "Informer", by Snow. Particularly because the lyrics, even if you claim to understand them, still make no sense. "A-licky boom boom down", indeed.
posted by Danelope at 9:26 AM on May 8, 2002


I literally have to listen to "Best of Both Worlds" by Scott Walker on an amost daily basis lest I go mad.
And radomly singing "Ital!" from Roots Manuva's "Ital Visions" drives my roommate crazy!
posted by black8 at 9:35 AM on May 8, 2002


mcwetboy- not to mention Captain America:

"All those who oppose must yeild/When Captain America throws his mighty sheild..."

I got that on .mp3 too...some guy on one of the file sharing nets has all of 'em.
posted by jonmc at 9:35 AM on May 8, 2002


OH DEAR GOD! WHY DID YOU MENTION SNOW?
Informer you no say daddy me Snow me I'll go blame
A licky boom boom down
Detective mon said daddy me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky Boom Boom Down.


For me, that song would be this stupid DIO song from the eighties....
When there's lightning - it always bring me down
Cause it's free and I see that it's me
Who's lost and never found


I don't even know what that means. But it's been in my head for 15 years.
posted by bradth27 at 9:39 AM on May 8, 2002


Not surprisingly, there's actually been some research on just why some songs tend to get "stuck in your head". Professor James J. Kellaris contends that the three key factors are repetition, musical simplicity, and incongruity. Like, say, a bunch of cats singing a simple tune with only one word over and over and ...

oh ... NOOOOOO!!!!

meow, meow, meow, meow
meow, meow, meow, meow
(repeat for the rest of your life)

posted by yhbc at 9:44 AM on May 8, 2002


Tainted Love I love you though you hurt me so / Now I'm going to pack my things and go

I have to go listen to a jackhammer or something now, otherwise, all this week, it'll be Copa Cabana Coma.

Thanks, Miguel. I'm happy to know the a name for this exquisite torture.
posted by theora55 at 9:46 AM on May 8, 2002


How bout that "when i seen a elephant fly" from the movie, Dumbo.
posted by schlaager at 9:47 AM on May 8, 2002


And of course "the candy man can" unless he driving "his chevy to the levy but.."
posted by onegoodmove at 9:52 AM on May 8, 2002


Oh, Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind. Hey Mickey!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:54 AM on May 8, 2002


Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me", specially that part that goes:

"Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?
Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'.
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?"

Lower than this it cannot get.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 9:54 AM on May 8, 2002


the worst of these for me is when i get a classical song in my head with words from some cheesy jingle, eg: that Downy commercial about camp, McDonalds to Beethoven's 'Fur Elise'. similar is the adaptation of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown'. 'Do you know something Shroeder?'

i take it back. the worst is songs from the children's video 'It's Potty Time' featuring 'I Use My Potty (When I Have to Pee)', 'She is a Super-Dooper Pooper', and more.

my brother says 'La Bamba' can drive any song out of your head. therefore, i call it the universal musical sorbet.

'Para bailar a la Bamba...'
posted by Sean Meade at 9:55 AM on May 8, 2002


bradth27- those lyrics are deep, man...besides you can't dis Ronnie Dio, he's "The Man on the Silver Mountain"....

On preview...Miguel, respect Cheap Trick, that song you quoted is one of the best songs of the 1970's and "Surrender" is one of the best songs of all time IMHO.
posted by jonmc at 10:02 AM on May 8, 2002


holy cow, pracowcity! how old ARE you?!
posted by quonsar at 10:12 AM on May 8, 2002


We have our radio alarm clock set to a cheesy local AM station, so almost every morning we are treated to a song that will stick for the rest of the day. Yesterday was especially awful, though, as the song was "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher. Since I didn't know any of the words but the title, I spent most of the day singing "If I could turn back time, I would turn back time, time time time time time time turn back the time." Later in the day this was replaced by that Maria song from West Side Story.

And that damn Pepperidge Farm goldfish jingle...aaargh.
posted by kittyloop at 10:13 AM on May 8, 2002


and Cheap Trick puts on one hellva show. really, they are pros. but i'm sure they would be flattered to make the list. sometimes, in the bars, when:"Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?
Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin'.
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?"

people sing along in some frenzy, incoherent wind down followed by yeahs and whohhs. the excelled lyrics trip up c the wet tounge...so Miguel has a point...Trick was a bit mockish in that song. me, i like the progressions in the in it, the guitar work is so...batty, rakish in fact.
CTs best two songs are from "Heavy Metal"


swish swish
dant
dant
dant
do dant
dant....
posted by clavdivs at 10:16 AM on May 8, 2002


CTs best two songs are from "Heavy Metal"

Oh yeah!!
Reach out and take it! Reach out and t-t-t-take it.....
posted by jonmc at 10:20 AM on May 8, 2002


does anyone else hear thousands of young asian girls screaming 'crying, crying crying', or is it just me?
posted by lescour at 10:32 AM on May 8, 2002


Lower than this it cannot get.
heh. Neil Diamond's "Coming to America"
posted by lizs at 10:48 AM on May 8, 2002


My vote for song you can't get out of your head would have to be ELO's I Can't Get It Out Of My Head. Followed by Take a Walk on the Wild Side - all those do do dos.
posted by iconomy at 10:49 AM on May 8, 2002


the song that i cannot listen to or it will tunnel into my brain: tom's diner, by suzanne vega.

and the song that's hardwired up in that mess? jingle bells. i don't know, either.
posted by sugarfish at 10:51 AM on May 8, 2002


and "Surrender" is one of the best songs of all time IMHO

I second that (and I'm more of a jazz/electronica guy).

Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird
posted by vacapinta at 10:55 AM on May 8, 2002


Elmo's Song:

This is the song
lalalala
Elmo's song

lalalala
lalalala

Elmo's song....
posted by samsara at 11:08 AM on May 8, 2002


..wclabackwithmoretunesafterthismessagebutfirst:thisnextonesgoingouttomiguel...

"Babycomeback.... da-narnarnar..."
posted by clavdivs at 11:19 AM on May 8, 2002


Radio just fired up another one I'll be singing to my self all day:

"I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show/Momma used to dance for the money they'd throw/Papa would do whatever he could..."
posted by jonmc at 11:30 AM on May 8, 2002


When my husband and I were in Italy last fall, Kylie Minogue and that wretched
"La la la,
la la la la la,
la la la,
la la la la la... [REPEAT]
song was the biggest hit ever (aptly titled, "Can't Get You Out of My Head."). That song followed us through every city, town, subway stop, street corner, laudromat, bar, restaurant. Now it's a hit here. It will always be the burr in my memories of an otherwise glorious month.
posted by readymade at 12:11 PM on May 8, 2002


jonmc, I just heard this one.
everyone, scream it loud, baby...

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH......
Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love a bad name


terrible. just terrible. As for DIO.... coolest thing about the band? Their logo turned upside down spelled DEVIL.
heh.
Metalheads, unite!
posted by bradth27 at 12:13 PM on May 8, 2002


The song from the last set of Mercedes-Benz commercials.

All I wanna do is to thank you
Even though I don't know who you are
You let me change lanes
While I was driving in my car


Heehee.
posted by somethingotherthan at 12:26 PM on May 8, 2002


The song from the last set of Mercedes-Benz commercials.

All I wanna do is to thank you
Even though I don't know who you are
You let me change lanes
While I was driving in my car


Heehee.
posted by somethingotherthan at 12:26 PM on May 8, 2002


The song from the last set of Mercedes-Benz commercials.

All I wanna do is to thank you
Even though I don't know who you are
You let me change lanes
While I was driving in my car


Heehee.
posted by somethingotherthan at 12:26 PM on May 8, 2002


Hello. It was Round Midnight when the Fever caught me. I had to walk my Black Dog. I'm not Superstitious, but when, Time After Time, I go out walking After Midnight and I feel that Somebody's Watching Me, I know that it's More Than a Feeling. Jack and Diane, my Neighbors, think that I have a Criminal Mind and worry about my Black Cars. Sheesh! Sometimes I feel like the Boy in the Box! That's okay, though, because my sister, Cecilia, offers me Protection. The whole situation is sad, but I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues. Speaking of Synchronicity, the dog and I walked into a Purple Haze! We had to Get Back or we'd be lost. That's when she ran into me: "Oops! I did It Again!" said Beth, apologizing. "You Shook Me!" I said. "Next time just Call Me. My phone number is 867-5309." She wouldn't call; she'd just give me the Shaft. Either way, it was Infatuation. I was all Revved Up With No Place to Go. Except for Xanadu. It must have been the Drugs in my Pocket that made me do it. I Kicked Out the Jams. Now I'm doing the Jailhouse Rock. You Can Call Me Al.
The End

On preview, Geggy Tah did the Mercedes song. Geggy Tah, Geggy Tah, Geggy Tah.
posted by ashbury at 12:46 PM on May 8, 2002


"Popcorn" - the first instrumental synth hit. Moog at its best.

Deet deet deet deet doo dee doo
Deet deet deet deet doo dee doo
Deet dah deet deet dah deet deet dah deet deet dah deet deet dah doo
posted by skyscraper at 12:56 PM on May 8, 2002


~Misty~

Look at me
I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree
And I feel like I'm hanging from a cloud
I can't understand
I get misty just holding your hand

Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play.
Or it might be the sound of your hello
This magic I hear
I get misty
The moment you're near

This jazz standard always sticks in my head when I hear it. Reminds me of when I worked at a restaurant in High School. This Piano guy played every Friday and Saturday, and played the same setlist every single night. Always started off with Misty. You could set your watch by the guy. Started @ 6 PM, 2 hour set, 1/2 hour break, then the second 2 hour set. You always knew it was 8:30 when you heard Misty again...
posted by internal at 1:17 PM on May 8, 2002


Oh Jesus. My name is Misty, and the number of times someone's burst into that song upon learning that fact is surpassed only by the number of times I've been told, "Misty? Oh, I have [a friend who has] a [cat/dog/fish/ferret/chimp/manatee/pet rock] named Misty."

I'm physically pained.
posted by precocious at 1:50 PM on May 8, 2002


Worst song bomb EVER:
I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is
I don't know where my home is…

posted by mosspink at 2:53 PM on May 8, 2002


"96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians looped in my head for years. Too many teardrops.
posted by wadner at 5:25 PM on May 8, 2002


precocious: you could have it worse. Ever watch Cheers? My name is Kelly.

KellyKellyKellyKellyKellyKellyKellyKelly....

yeah.

I usually whistle the whistly bit from "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" by Monty Python when I'm given to whistling.

and who hasn't had this Ferris-based nightmare in their head?
dunh dunh
ohhhhh yeahhhhhh.....

I actually use a Jimmy Eat World album track (Praise Chorus) to expel earworms! Another one that is good for terrifying others is Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode. heh. Song Sung Blue always works on my sweetie, too.

My dad hums Hey Jude a lot. Sometimes he'll hum to himself and go 'naaa, naa naa nanananaa...' without realizing nobody heard him humming.
posted by verso at 6:15 PM on May 8, 2002


How does it feel, how does it feeel, to be out of home, a complete unknown, like a rolling stone..........
We got tonight, who needs tomorrow, we got tonight babe, why don't you stay......
Baby hold on to me, whathever will be will be.........
Good-by Mary, Good-by Jane........
Still the same, baby, baby, still the same.......
I never be a beast of burden, never, never be......
Against the wind, still running, running agains the wind...
posted by semmi at 9:10 PM on May 8, 2002


precocious: I had a hardresser named Misty once. I successfully resisted telling her that my sister has a cat named Misty. Looks like my streak is broken though.

My recent worsts are the goldfish song ( "The tasty snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off... You know they're made with real cheese, even though they look like, fishies...") and that new claymation commercial for the cookie sandwiches, with the cookies and creme (not "cream", "creme") on a bus: "Ooooooooh I'm squeeeezed in the middle, smack-dab in the middle..." That one's been killing me lately. Is that even a real song, or just a jingle they made up for the commercial?
posted by rusty at 10:53 PM on May 8, 2002


You haven't known horror until you have the theme from Mr. Belvedere stuck in your head during sex.

It wouldn't be so bad if the stupid song made sense, but instead we get:

Streaks on the China,
never seen him before.
Who cares?
When you drop-kicked your jacket
as you walked in the door
no one dared!

What the Hell??????????
posted by dogwelder at 11:45 PM on May 8, 2002


> holy cow, pracowity! how old ARE you?!

I am wilted, withered, wizened.

> Mr. Belvedere stuck in your head during sex

And what a common complaint that is.
posted by pracowity at 2:05 AM on May 9, 2002


I was in Scotland last year, during the first breakout of that Kylie song, and the second-most-overplayed song was by DJ Otli (or something):

Heeeeey-heeey baybee..
(oooh, aaah)
I wanna kno-o-ow..
If you'll be my girl..

It played in the malls. It was on the radio. The kids in the playground next to our flat sang it all day long. People in the bars spontaneously burst into song.

Fortunately it never hit Canada, unlike Kylie who was hot over here about 3 months after I got back from Scotland. Hit TWICE by the na-na-na plague.
posted by some chick at 6:18 AM on May 9, 2002


some chick - the original of that song is by Bruce Channel,and is actually pretty good. John Lennon once said it was one of his favorites.
posted by jonmc at 7:57 AM on May 9, 2002


Perfect Day by Duran Duran is an evil evil song!
posted by riffola at 8:30 PM on May 13, 2002


« Older Koleen Brooks,   |   Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments