A Report on a Topic that Can Easily Be Understood On Your Own with the Help of the Internet

I wake up with a song stuck in my head every morning. Unfortunately, it's rarely one I want to get stuck in my head, like, uh, I don't know "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison (which my co-worker is currently listening to/singing along with this very moment). They call these "earworms". I found this by asking my friend Google "why do songs get stuck in your head?".

Taken from TheStraightDope.com:

One theory is that earworms are a form of mild musical hallucination (normally a rare experience), the distinction being that with an earworm you (a) usually aren’t on drugs or suffering from schizophrenia and thus (b) are fully aware there’s no actual music being played outside of your skull. Another theory is that earworms are a side effect of your brain trying to consolidate memories, akin to what happens in REM sleep. Yet another possibility is pondered by neurologist Oliver Sacks in his book Musicophilia: earworms might simply be a consequence of our being surrounded by music in our lives whether we want to be or not.

I don't know which theory I really buy. At first I thought (Ball) Sacks is onto something. I'm constantly surrounded by faint music coming from my co-workers computer from 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. I drown it out from time to time, but sometimes I forget to turn on my SiriusXM online radio. I am usually treated to a medly of Taylor Swift (kill me), the occasional motown jam, and all of the other typical soft rock of yesterday and today garbage, drifting from across the walkway of my office into my little corner, tucked behind a half-wall. I rarely wake up with these songs in my braincage, though, so maybe Sacks is full of shit (haha).

I agree that earworms might be a consolidation of memory. Like dreams. I randomly get songs stuck in my head, like if I start hearing "Sleeping In" by The Postal Service (go consult your CD collection from 2003 or SongMeanings.net if you don't know it), I can think back to watching that episode of Mad Men the night before when JFK was shot and make the connection. It's similar to dreams. If I walk by a magazine rack and see the latest issue of InStyle, I might think for a second about the person who's on the cover and think about what a phony they are, and the magazine that's next to it, I might see but never think about who's on the cover. The second person is more likely to appear in a dream later - subconscious.

Some songs are inexplicable, though. Last week I woke up with "The Girl All the Bad Guys Want" by Bowling For Soup in my head. Then I heard Bowling for Soup TWICE on SiriusXM throughout my work day. Can you believe that shit?