Songs That Get Stuck In Your Head

Can't get an annoying song out of your head? Researchers at the University of London discovered potential "cures" for what they refer to as involuntary musical imagery, otherwise known as earworms.

You hear this one all the time, don't you?  You hear a tune that sticks in your brain, whether it’s for hours or even days. Participants were surveyed in two laboratories in Finland and the United Kingdom. While most found their earworm experiences to be "neutral or pleasant," they still try to get rid of it.  Researchers found the most popular ways of dealing with an earworm is by either listening to the song or melody in its entirety or by replacing it with another one.  In the U.K., for example, the most common melody, unsurprisingly, was "God Save the Queen."

Earworms fall into the category of "spontaneous cognitions", which make up to 40 percent of people's everyday thoughts, researchers say. Other spontaneous cognitions include mind wandering or random pop-up memories. More than 90 percent of people report experiencing earworms at least once a week.

I can tell you... I get certain snippets of songs stuck in my head.  It's usually  not the whole chorus or a whole verse, it might just be one line. What do you do to get an earworm out of your head?  What was the latest song you got stuck in there?

Stickingly yours,
Behka