Earworms of the workplace

[Antisocial_Worker]

Earworm, a loan translation of the German Ohrwurm, is a term for a song stuck in one's head, particularly an annoying one...

...Some sufferers from earworm prefer the term "repetunitis", "stuck tune syndrome", "sound virus" or, if sufficiently acute, "melodymania."

And now that we have that out of the way, please tell me that I am not the only wretch out there beset by melodymania while on the job. Certain things I see or do while working set off an appropriate song that will echo inside my skull until I just want to curl up into a ball and whimper for a while.

Case the First:

I work two double shifts a week, which means I set out the breakfast twice a week. We put out fruit on one of those days, and that fruit is usually apples and bananas. This means that on that day, Raffi serenades me with Banana Phone. Without fail.

Case the Second:

Today a lady checked in, which in itself is not an unusual occurrence. Unfortunately the lady was quite plainly not wearing a bra beneath her skimpy blouse which set off Lords of Acid's I Must Increase my Bust, especially the part that goes...

I got to admit I'm obsessed by tits
I had this problem since I was a kid
I used to look up to my auntie Marie
'cause she had big tits hanging down to her knees
Her nipples were poking right out of her gown
If boobs gave you wings she'd be flying around
As I grew older I made up my mind
I'd get me the biggest ones I could find

...which even as I type is still shrieking through the hallways in the motel of my mind.

Would anyone else care to share?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Last year we had a large, animated, singing, dancing santa statue that we sold right next to the Christmas trees.

It was motion activated, so whenever anybody walked by it would start saying "Ho ho ho, how about a song to get you into the holiday spirit?", and then croon one of several holiday tunes.

My response: "How about a kick in the groin to shut you up!"

Of course, this damn thing had to stay plugged in at all times, otherwise it WOULD NOT SELL if people couldn't hear it do its thing. Not that it did sell when people heard it do its thing.

Same thing happened with this singing, talking, dancing deer-head trophy we had last year that corporate was convinced was THE hot new item. Its bad jokes got old the second time I heard that thing go off. We did not sell a single one of those until they went on clearance for about 75% off.

[Seanette]

I'm very earworm prone. Usually happens when I hear a song snip I like, but can happen while I'm reading or even out of the blue.

My usual solution is to find the song in question and play it a few times.

[thegiraffe]

Agh - I have like a perpetual radio running through my head. Sometimes I'll have 2 or 3 songs playing simultaneously. It really sucks at work over here at school, because I work with kids. Gotta love having Raffi and other 'silly songs' running through your head.

I generally sing the few bars that get stuck...over and over and over haha, then find something better to stick in my head. It really doesn't bother me unless (a) I can't remember a line or part of a verse/chorus, or (b) it's a highly repetitive song.

[pentavite]

The only CDs we sell are for kids, and because the best way to advertise them is to play them, we had all sorts of earworm gems.
For a while, we had two cds with Banana Phone in the spinner.
We had the YMCA, as done by 10-year-olds, that another clerk put on repeat, before she clocked out.
And for a while, The Wiggles.

And everyone looks at me funny when I try to scrub it out with my MP3 player during my break.

[XCashier]

Hello to pentavite from another Phoenixian!

Agh - I have like a perpetual radio running through my head.

With me, it's more like a mental jukebox with several scratched records. I hear the chorus or same verse over and over and over... Usually some horrid Mac Davis or Michael Bolton number (that's the type of music that my boss, unfortunately, chooses to play).

One time I had Bob Segar's "Beautiful Loser" playing in my head over and over for four days straight. Good song, but not for four days straight!

[Drakstern]

I have a habit of getting DDR songs I'm working on stuck in my head.

Butterfly(Upswing Mix), Healing Vision(Angelic Mix), and Can't Stop Falling in Love(Speed Mix) are particular favorites.

Other than that, Bob Seger and Tom Petty are particular offenders. Do as Infinity is too, which makes it interesting to try and remember lyrics... since they're in Japanese and all...

[stormtreader]

This is the best (worst?) site ive found for earworms:
http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons
It wasnt helped by the fact that everyone at my job also loved the site, and theyd go round the office for days...

(Badger, badger, badger, badger......)

[irateguy]

Ive had some Chicago songs In my head for a few days now those and the Earth Wind and Fire version of the Beatles Got To Get You Into my Life. My stores Muzak is Weird you can her it in the back room but not on the sales floor. I can t stand dead silence so I start humming whatevers in my head.
I didnt know " Banana Phone" was an actual song until now. that is what they call the phone they use for people to Call Marty Brennaman when the Reds are in a rain delay.

[ArenaBoy]

I am prone to earworm when I work shows or see something that reminds me of a song at work. The other night it was a starry sky and I kept hearing Kelly Watch the Stars by Air over and over and occasionally New Star in the Sky by Air.

Shows however, are the worst when it comes to earworms. When I worked Fall Out Boy, the local alternative radio station booth was right next to me, they played some good songs but most of the time it was annoying me and it got stuck in my head the rest of the night when they left. It doesn't help when people have their windows open and are playing their music loudly for whatever show is going on.

[protege]

One time I had Bob Segar's "Beautiful Loser" playing in my head over and over for four days straight. Good song, but not for four days straight!

Hehe I had the 'Zoom zoom zoom' song stuck in my head for a few days after I bought the Mazda. Of course that wasn't helped when I later burned that song to a disc... Great fun when hammering the car up twisty roads

[Gurndigarn]

Try working around video games. First, they have attract noises... stuff to draw people's attention. Usually, these are short snippets that repeat frequently. Depending on the game, possibly nonstop. Often, annoying if listened to for more than fifteen seconds. Second, to spot problems, a tech has to train his ears to pick up small sounds coming from games. Put the two together, and you have something designed to wear grooves in your brain.

"DAY-TO-NA! Dah duh da dhu! DAY-TO-NA! ... Daytona! [four tone mumble]! Day-to-na.... DAY-TO-NA! Dah duh da dhu! DAY-TO-NA! ... Daytona! [four tone mumble]! Day-to-na.... DAY-TO-NA! Dah duh da dhu! DAY-TO-NA! ... Daytona! [four tone mumble]! Day-to-na.... DAY-TO-NA! Dah duh da dhu! DAY-TO-NA! ... Daytona! [four tone mumble]! Day-to-na...." etcetera.

"Roger, We got a problem. [pause] Some terrorists have seized control of the building. [pause] "They've got the president's daughter inside" [long pause, different voice] "Ah, we've gotta get her out of there." This is the point where I always add, mentally "No s**t, sherlock!"

"Breaker, breaker, this is Texas Hawk. Anybody out there copy, over?" "TROUBLE!" "Come back?" "This is the Lizard Tail. I'm tellin all a' you losers out there to get outta my way! Eat this!" "ROCK AND ROLL! These drivers know these twenty-six meter trailers like the backs of their hands. DON'T SLOW DOWN!"

And keep in mind that these games are designed to be be working for YEARS, and the attract sounds never change....

[Luna]

Me too! I can't think of any examples - but usually they are completely inappropriate and it causes me to start cracking up when I really shouldn't b/c it'll make me think of a song....usually involving a customer and them being angry.

This is why I always have music on. If I'm relaxing singing/humming/dancing to music on random - my brain is too preoccupied to do silly things to get me into trouble or annoy me. Left alone without my MP3 player or random CD compilation - it will play tricks on me and spurt annoying things to torture me to tears.

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me..C is for cookie....

[Tria]

This is the best (worst?) site ive found for earworms:
http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons
It wasnt helped by the fact that everyone at my job also loved the site, and theyd go round the office for days...

(Badger, badger, badger, badger......)

"The mushroom harvest is complete, Legolas."

[Ringtail Z28]

At Target there was this big christmas present shaped decoration that hung from the ceiling over the entrance. Inside it had this motion sensor that would trigger a recording of Joy to the World. I was usually stuck doing carts at christmas time so I would get to hear it every time I brought in carts. I tried to find a way to turn it off but got stopped by management every time.

Now I frequently get Banana Phone stuck in my head whenever it plays on the radio. Today I kept catching myself singing Wheel in the Sky.