The Music In My Head

I have a very strange brain. At least, I’ve accepted that I must do (and I’m sure various friends, family members and co-workers would heartily agree). I know that everyone says they sometimes have a song stuck in their head; usually that dreaded snippet that plays over and over and over and over and over and over again. And again. And just when you think it’s gone:  again and again and again, until you’re mentally screaming in agony.

But I’m pretty sure I’m worse: I’m never without a song in my head.

Because I research to death anything and everything that sparks my interest, I Googled it…discovering endless pages of studies and articles and theories about the ‘earworm’. Yes, apparently that’s the scientific term – quite appropriate I’d say. Right up there with tapeworms and other assorted parasites.

Skimming over a few entries, I found them to be quite repetitive – just like the subject matter – and most of them rather unhelpfully concluded that it’s a result of brain neurons getting “stuck” on a particular “repeating loop”. That sounds to me more like a symptom than a cause, but hey, I’m not a scientist…

And besides, in my head it’s usually more than just a snippet of a song. No, I am usually blessed with the whole entire thing on endless repeat, full orchestral  effects and back-up singers; the whole shebang, although some sections do tend to repeat more than others. It can get noisy in there.

Several articles did touch on how music in some form has been a fundamental part of human evolution: it’s accepted that the part of our brain which responds to music, developed long before the part that responds to language. I suppose that means that it comes from a less evolved, less complex part of our psyche. That makes sense to me:  who hasn’t been moved to the core by a deep base line or rhythmic drum beat; reacting to and with it before you even know what the actual song is? It’s ingrained in us, we can’t help but feel it. So it’s not surprising that music pops into our heads at the strangest times – for some of us, it’s as autonomous as breathing.

Reading on, I found this quote from a 2012 ‘The Telegraph’ article by Rosa Silverman quite interesting:  “Word memory association, situations of stress, a wandering mind and altered emotional states can all be blamed for the phenomenon, psychologist Dr Lauren Stewart said.”

Well, apparently I’m a victim of at least one or more of these mostly dubious circumstances at all times – because I literally do have at least one or more songs stuck in my head at all times. Oh dear.

For added fun, I also seem to have certain “go-to” songs that my brain likes to bring forth under certain circumstances. 

For instance:  The German National Anthem.  Yes, I said the German National Anthem…and no, I am not German, I’m British & Canadian. But that anthem pops up frequently when I’m doing something like taking a brisk walk, or when something isn’t working and I’m determined to fix it. This has been happening for years, and was actually really bothering me…because It Made No Sense.
Until one day, I figured it out: F1 Racing. You see, I enjoy watching Formula 1 and have for a long time. And there were many years when Michael Schumacher won ALL the time.  Therefore…they’d play the German National Anthem ALL the time. So I assume my silly brain associated that with a sort of “Winning!”; conquering hero mentality. At least, I hope so, because otherwise I’m apparently a closet, very nationalistic German. (I have been to Germany, I liked it a lot, but…)

Anyway, I also get “Let It Snow” – which thankfully does make sense:  when it snows, I hear it. Always…although it sometimes segues into “Silver Bells”, but I’m okay with that.

“Jingle Bells” is somewhat more perplexing. I tend to not only hear, but sing that one - and not always just to myself! – whenever I get impatient. And once it’s there, it’s there for the long haul. Usually I’m in a silly mood too, but it happens at any time of year, not just Christmas or even winter…and yes, I’m used to being laughed at for it. Anyway, I’ve racked my brain on that one and can’t come up with any reason, logical or otherwise. So I’m open to suggestions!

For most of us, there are the familiar songs that suddenly appear out of nowhere in your mind, bringing along random (or sometimes expected) memories: for me if Bowie’s Rebel Rebel starts mentally playing, I’m right back in an arena during his Reality Tour (it was the show opener…and I saw 17 of them!) Sometimes it’s not an actual memory; rather it’s as if the song transports you to a certain place or time, whether you've been there or not. Lately I’ve had snippets from the Outlander TV soundtrack in my head quite frequently…and when that happens, I can almost instantly be transported to a beautiful Scottish landscape in another century, rolling hills and all. This is especially nice if it happens on a crowded subway commute. And for some lovely reason, it’s never raining…I guess that’s proof it’s definitely my imagination...

Often I can put my finger on what triggered the specific song and memory or thought – might be as simple as an advert on TV, or a comment made by a co-worker. Sometimes I can’t. But it’s always fascinating to try and figure it out – and to wonder how many more moments are stored away, to be rediscovered when the right piece of music decides to make an appearance.

I mentioned having more than one song in my head at a time…this is when it starts to get annoying. Usually the combinations sort of make sense; current or favourite songs, with similar lines or riffs so they ‘go’ together. But sometimes it’s just plain weird. Imagine the “Star Wars” theme (‘sung’ by Bill Murray – yes, from old SNL skits) meshing with both Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way”, and the theme from “Love Boat”. This mashup from hell has been in my head on more than one occasion – with no obvious trigger. These are the times I start to worry about myself.

In the same “Telegraph” article I mentioned above, the quoted psychologist says: “Annoying as earworms are, it is possible they might have a greater function than to drive us mad. It’s interesting to us to think about whether earworms might have a role to play. Are they just a by-product of the brain’s resting state or is something more interesting going on”

Well, I really hope there is something more to it. This blog was triggered by having “Spaceship Superstar” (a 1977 song by Canadian band Prism) in my head since Monday. It is now Wednesday, and I AM going slightly mad. I know where it came from; I downloaded a favourite film on Monday which uses this song over the closing credits - but geez, after three days you’d think my brain would come up with something else. I’ve tried listening to the whole thing multiple times to get rid of it. Nope. Tried listening to loud Bowie, to jazz, to 80’s dance tracks, the Outlander soundtrack – but as soon as I turn that music off, Prism is back. I can be super-busy at work; enjoying a TV show in the evening; talking to a friend in person or on the phone; reading a book on the subway…but ”Spaceship Superstar” is still with me. I’d hate to think it had no purpose.

Unless of course, that purpose is to drive one mad.

On the other hand, music – even if just ‘in the head" - has been shown to release the brain chemical dopamine. Yes indeed - the very same chemical as does sex or good food. So in that case:  Bring It On!