View from the Loft

Another earworm ...

Are some people more likely to have earworms than others? Because I'm really plagued with them. And they don't arise because I've lately heard the song somewhere or anything. They just pop up in my brain. Anyway, here's the latest.  Talk about nostalgia!

 

Put the message in the box

For some reason, when I woke up at four this morning, this song--which I've neither heard nor thought of in years and years--was playing in my head. I wouldn't call it an earworm--yet--but I was amazed to remember it after all this time.

 

Making amends ...

... for that last video. Here's something to take away the bad taste.

 

 

This week's earworm

I was zipping through various channels on the satellite radio and came across this. Didn't even listen to the whole thing, but I've had the earworm for days nonetheless.

 

This week-and-a-half's earworm

The Cranberries: "Dreams." I loved this song and the CD it was on. Still do. Had a friend who liked Kate Bush but couldn't stand the Cranberries. I was the opposite: Kate Bush was like nails on a chalkboard to me, while I found the Cranberries amazing. Well, there's no accounting for taste.

Go here for chords and lyrics. And here's the video:

 

After a respite, EARWORMS!

Okay, I had two or three weeks without really suffering from earworms. But all that has changed!

Let me start with the most recent onslaught first. My sister asked me for the name of the album on which the Stray Cats' song containing the lyrics "strange, sneaky suspicion" appeared. Using The Google, I found the answer in seconds. The album--and it was an album, you know, vinyl and all, when it came out--was Rant 'n' Rave--but then you knew that, right? The song is "I Won't Stand in Your Way," and here's the doo-wop version (not on Rant 'n' Rave):

 

Prior to being haunted by that song, I kept, and keep hearing, Holly Near's "I Ain't Afraid." Great song--heard it on The Village on XM satellite radio a while back. It's all about how religion is scary because of what people do in the name of their god.

 

 

The past week's earworms

Kind of an unusual one cropped up in the past week, a jazz tune: "Small Day Tomorrow." My favorite version is done by Janis Siegel, but hers isn't on YouTube, so I had to settle for Lee Aaron (who's good, too). Apparently, Aaron used to be a heavy metal singer, so she made quite a switch.

Otherwise, a pretty quiet week--musically--inside my head. Oh, I did have Elvis's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" for about a day and a half, but not as insistently as happens sometimes. Try the Norah Jones instead of Elvis.

Last week's earworms

Actually, the past fourteen days' worth of earworms, as I didn't do the previous week's. You do know that this is an evil plot to foist my earworms on you?

Only if you know the song, I guess.

Anyway, starting with the week of the 10th, I was still "hearing" "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Thank goodness it's the Billie Holiday version and not some insipid junk you hear all over the radio during the Christmas season.

It was joined, for some reason, by Elton John's "Daniel." I don't know why. I didn't hear it anywhere; it just popped up, which is normal for me. Having once gotten into early Elton John territory, it was only natural that Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters made its presence known. Good thing I like those songs, that's all I can say.

I made the mistake of watching Coal Miner's Daughter one night when I couldn't find anything else to watch on TV. Not that it's a bad movie, far from it, but with my affliction, you just know that I'd have country music songs plaguing me afterwards. And so it is. And I don't like country music, most of it, anyway. Too bad--"You're Lookin' at Country" and "Back in Baby's Arms" are with me yet. Not done by Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline, respectively, but by Sissy Spacek and Beverly d'Angelo. Sigh. Oh well, at least I'm a Patsy Cline fan ... and who can help but think of John Candy and Steve Martin in Trains, Planes, and Automobiles when they hear "Back in Baby's Arms"?

But I have a confession to make. Not only do I have earworms, but from time to time, I actually hear music that isn't there. I've concluded that a combination of sounds gets interpreted by my brain as music. Sometimes in the shower I'll hear a chorus of voices, but usually I hear 40's big band music, for some reason. (James says it's because I heard it in the womb!) I mean, it's not like earworms, where it's just playing in your head. It's actually hearing it, even though you know it's not really there. No, I'm not psychotic. I can't explain why this happens from time to time. It's not scary or even annoying; it's just there. I just think (or say, if James is around), "Oh, there's the music again. This time it's jazz."

Maybe in my next life I'll be a musician.

This week's earworms

Mercifully, it's been a light week for earworms.

I've had a couple of leftovers from the holiday season, notably "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," which isn't really a Christmas song, now is it? I've wondered for a long time why such tunes as "Let It Snow," "Sleigh Ride," "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the like are aired only during the Christmas season, when really they're just about winter generally. "White Wine in the Sun" has also been haunting me.

Yesterday at Meijer "You Light Up My Life" was playing and, horror of horrors, it's been with me ever since. Blegh.

I was plagued by "I've Been Working on the Railroad" for about three days. That's just plain weird.

All in all, though, none of these reached the level of torture, assailing me only sporadically. If only most weeks were this easy ...