It’s happened to all of us.
That song you have a love/hate relationship with lodges itself in your brain and refuses to go anywhere no matter how much you bombard it with distractions. It stays put, bothering you — and your roommates.
Isn’t it just the worst when the song you despise dominates your brain? It refuses to allow you to do anything else with your life other than sing or hum it to yourself. All you want to do is be free, but its ironclad grip on you holds fast. Then you wind up doing stupid things like writing, “I want your love and I want your revenge” in the middle of your newspaper article while you’re not paying attention. Whoops! I mean, I’ve never done anything like that …
When it annoys you, it’s one thing. When it annoys everyone around you, it’s quite another. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me to “Just shut up already,” after I return from Glee Club rehearsal and have some obscure song like “Wolcum Yole” on the brain.
I prefer when no one else knows the song. Then no one can holler, “At least get the lyrics right!” while I’m singing the radio’s most popular song of the week — apparently incorrectly — in the shower.
Wikipedia has some helpful tips as to how to vanquish that evil song for your sake and for your friends’.
No. 1: This first one kills me: Speak the lyrics to “I’m a Little Teapot.” I’d rather sing the other song I don’t want in my head.
No. 2: Write a list of songs that get stuck in your head. And this helps me how? Besides, when do I have time to do something so trivial?
No. 3: Pick the “stickiest” song on that list and sing it whenever you want a different song out. But then won’t that leave me with a second song stuck?
No. 4: Do something active or noisy. Now this is not a problem. Active = gym which kills two birds with one stone by forcing me to use my iPod and listen to more desirable songs and also making me actually work out.
No. 5: Concentrate on something else. I could have told you that one on my own.
No. 6: Shout in your head. No comment on that.
No. 7: Go someplace no one will hear and shout out loud. Good luck finding that place on campus. If you’re having this much trouble, just sing the song out loud wherever you are and pretend not to notice people staring at you peculiarly.
No. 8: Think of other songs that annoy you and sing them out loud. For commentary, refer to number three.
No. 9: Watch a movie. This I’m cool with if I have enough time to spare. It totally gets the mind concentrating on something other than the undesirable song.
And No. 10, which is really the only foolproof system: Listen to the hated song over and over and over. This method has been tried and true. You naturally get tired of the song and your brain shakes it off, leaving you in peace.
Your roommate probably won’t mind either.
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