How To Get Rid of an Earworm

Legend has it there's a song out there that will cause the listener to commit suicide. Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I listened to the song. (I know.)

It's called Gloomy Sunday, originally written in Hungarian by Rezső Seress in 1933. The idea that a song can be so emotionally gripping that someone would actually end their life because of listening to it really got my imagination going. I read about it, listened to many versions of it (because if so many people are still recording it, surely not everyone killed themselves) and found it so, so beautiful.

Here's what happened as a result of that little science experiment: I got a fucking earworm. What's the one song you never, ever want stuck in your head? The one that might kill you through repeated listens. After the third straight day of having it stuck, I thought, maybe this is how it kills you: it gets in and doesn't leave and you have to shoot yourself.

This hasn't happened severely since then. Sure, I get a song stuck in my head, but mostly it's something I like and it disappears after a few minutes.

Saturday, I went to a Christmas party and someone played Prince's Kiss a few times -- a song I generally dislike. Well, everyone at the party went nuts singing and dancing and in basic agreement that a prissy little man is sexually attractive to women.

Like we yanked the bathroom door open without knocking.

For the next 2 days (up until this very minute), I've had that song constantly playing in my head. It's making me irritable and stabby.

So how do I get rid of it? After looking up several solutions online, these are the best ideas anyone has:

• Do an activity that works out the brain, like a puzzle/teaser, or reading an engrossing novel. Nothing too taxing, nothing too easy.
• Listen to the offending piece all the way through so that the song finds a natural ending.
• Listen to a different, equally catchy song.

If those solutions don't work you can shoot yourself and the song will be gone forever.

Unless that's what Hell is. Maybe don't risk it.

I tried suggestions 1 and 3 with limited success. Because the song Kiss is like nails down a chalkboard, I was reluctant to call it up online and have yet another listen. Desperate times...

Here's what I found on YouTube:

Maybe I'm still a 90's teenager at heart, but I like this song, and thought my prayers were answered that I didn't have to listen to Prince. I shut my eyes and played this video a few times thinking that's where the madness ended. 15 minutes later, though, Kiss was back. I even listened to Gloomy Sunday a few times, because even if it got stuck again, at least I find that song beautiful.

Actually, listen to this tiny girl sing it. It'll make you cry.

Now at least I've listened to enough music all day trying to shove out that damn earworm that maybe it'll perish sometime tonight.

Please add your favorite earworm-killing tactics in the comments section. 

Jeff & Dimples - House of the Rising Sun (a muddy mississippi lament)

In case anyone missed it...
(and yes, the artwork is by yours truly)

Christian Music

Please, nobody get me wrong by what I'm about to say. I'm a Christian, no question. Have been my whole life (including a few bouts of doubt and thinking, "What if all this is just a bunch of crap?").

When I was a teenager, all I listened to was Christian music. They've got pop and alternative and so many cool bands. Even now when I go back and listen to it, I enjoy it (although the "True Love Waits" type lyrics seem a little outdated for me, being a married woman. Singing, "I don't want sex" is a blatant lie.)

Recently, I listened to some new music by some CCM artists I used to enjoy. I thought maybe they'd kept up with the times and they might be even better than I remembered. NO! They in fact suck. Did you know that with three guitar chords and the following list of words, you can write a Christian "pop" song?

• Lord
• Savior
• Generation
• Majesty
• King
• Tremble
• Reign
• Kingdom
• Love (as a proper noun)
• Glory
• Jesus
• Power
• Perfect
• Praise
• Magnify
• Adore
• Lift (as in "We lift our voices and praise Your perfect sacrifice")
• Bow
• God
• Glorify
• Faith
• Prayer
• Sacrifice
• Save
• High (as in "Lord, we magnify and adore You and lift Your holy name on high")
• Name
• Holy
• You, Yours, Him, His, etc (capitalized pronoun, referring to God... always makes me think I have to read it in italic, with extra special emphasis.)

Seriously, don't get me wrong. I love a well-written Christian song with lyrics that make me think. But I hate songs that make me sigh in frustration at hearing the same words over and over -- they don't mean anything. Just a string of cliches (and my writer friends know you need to stay away from cliches!).

For an example of something good, I enjoy Keith Green. He would reach right down into something very personal and then write a song. This is my favorite:

"Lord, I remember that special way I vowed to serve you when it was brand new. But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray one hour with you. And I'll bet I could deny you, too."

Wow, that's a difficult thing to confess, but it's right there inside us all. That's the kind of thing that stays with you, that you think about all day. Interchanging words from the above list might be alright -- and if I'm in a worship service and the leader pulls out one of these bad boys, it's all well and good (though I do prefer the older hymns). We're singing to God, not to entertain ourselves ... but when I put on a CD (or dial it up on my iPod, rather), I am listening to it for me, and I'd like to get more out of it than 3 chords and half a dozen words (repeated for 7 minutes).

Most listened to music 2012

Because I listen to a lot of music for varying reasons, here are my top picks for this year

In no particular order... 

Mirrors

As you may have already seen on my HAIR page, I worked as the stylist on a music video a few months ago for a singer named Alan Fox. In addition to being a very cool song (and catchy!), the people behind it were some of the nicest I've ever worked with.

Filming took place in downtown New York on top of a seriously swanky apartment. Here's one of the views:

And this was a GOOD day...

That's one of the greatest things about being in New York City: you never know when you'll see something spectacular. Also, this was my JOB for the day.

Compare with this
<---

The task for the evening was to do hair for the singer and an actress with a classmate of mine (who did makeup), and then hang out on the rooftop to ensure they continued to look good.

Halfway through the video, you can see my work - the portion where they're outside and obviously on a rooftop. I hope you enjoy it!




Check out more from Alan Fox here, and follow him on Twitter.

The Music Muse

I'll admit, I got the idea to post on this subject from my friend.

The muse is a funny thing. Songs have different moods, different personalities, much like the stories I write. Sometimes I'll assign each character his or her own artist or genre, which helps me to focus while I write and helps me stay "in the mood" at other times.



Some of my favorites for my current project:


Regina Spektor has some wonderful songs - the perfect "voice" for one of my characters.



Wolfsheim sings in English and German (but mostly in English).


At times, the English language gets in the way when I'm trying to focus on the proper wording for a scene, so I'll turn to foreign language music instead of instrumentals. The voices help me stay "in character." The world is huge, and pop music is everywhere.


Creepy clown aside, this guy's got a smooth, beautiful voice.
Other Germans who have lovely voices:
Laith Al-Deen
Annett Louisan
and Xavier Naidoo (although I have no idea what's up with this video)

Bollywood ranges from dance to sad and weepy. It's such a good resource.



And last, but not least, my favorite: Turkish music. Maybe it's just Tarkan's gorgeous face.

I'll be updating new and old favorites on the music page at the top of the screen every now and then.