Rock On wit'yer Bad Self

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While sitting in a waiting room recently, I heard 'Rock the Boat' play on the radio. I hadn't heard the song in a long time, so I enjoyed it. I may have even subtly danced along, although I did resist jumping up and performing my best snap and point move.

The problem is, now IT WON'T GO AWAY. I've been rocking the boat (rock the boat, baby) rocking the boat (rock on with your bad self) rocking the booooooat (rock on with your bad self!) for eight whole days.

Why do songs get stuck in our heads? I looked that up once I couldn't get out of the damn boat.  Turns out that INMIs (involuntary musical imagery) are triggered by certain emotional states, such as tiredness, overwork or boredom. Then, the very effort of trying to forget the song makes it less likely that we will. To get rid of it, experts suggest four strategies:

  • Complete the song. If you listen to the whole song, the brain will often get the message that the input is complete and no further repetition is necessary
  • Distract yourself with a competing input, be it a task, sound or image
  • Play another song with a very different tempo or beat
  • Mix up the lyrics as you sing the song that's stuck, so that it breaks the pattern.
Personally, I'm hoping that writing a blog breaks up the pattern. Maybe if I get the song stuck in someone else's head, it will leave me alone. That is my brilliant cunning plan. <insert evil laugh here.>

See y'all next time!

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