Culture

Sacré bleu over and over again

By on • ( 19 Comments )

There are such things as earworms. Those songs that stay in one’s head on repeat. I get those a lot. I mean, a lot. I will play a song on repeat, ad nauseam, on my iPod. Then I tire of it after about 200 plays and move on to the next song. It does amuse me when I still have songs I can listen to after such marathons. I suppose those are the true songs I like with the rest being earworms. Just in case you were wondering, the top 5 earworm songs according to a psychology study (Jakubowski, 2016 et al,) at one point in time were:

  1. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga
  2. “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” by Kylie Minogue
  3. “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey
  4. “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye
  5. “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5

I can see that. I believe I myself have played each of those at least 50 times. Interestingly, some research hints that those more susceptible to earworms have thicker sections of the brain; and those tend to be smarter people. Just saying.

Anyway, I love the topic of earworms. For some reason it fascinates me. Now, lately, I have not only had songs on repeat in my head but also certain words. Specifically, I have had the french phrase “sacré bleu” running over and over again in my head. Why that is so is beyond me. It really is not a phrase I use. I find it silly when used in movies. Yet, it’s been on my mind.

I do have an idea. I think when I was younger, I would hear such a phrase in cartoons. And, lately life has felt a bit silly and whimsical, as well as surprisingly dumb. Well, not my life. But some people have been doing some things that just don’t make sense. And instead of doing a Homer Simpson “d’oh” imitation I have been shaking my head allowing the phrase sacré bleu to run on repeat. It is as good a phrase as any. But I am looking forward to my next phrase earworm. If only these things came with a roadmap.

Categories: Culture, mental health, music, Pop Culture, Psychology, research

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19 replies »

  1. Earworms are funny how they just come to you and repeat over and over. My latest are by the Bangles – Hazy Shade of Winter, and Eternal Flame. haha! They just have to play out until the next one comes along. 🙂

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  2. I had to laugh at your comment about listening to a tune 200 times before moving on. What? you stop at 200? Do you have ADD, (he says sarcastically)? good observation on ear worms. you’re not alone in it.

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  6. Earworms oyè- Fleetwood Mac, Big Love, Billy Idol, White Wedding, David Bowie, Queen Bitch. Muse, Resistance, or Uprising, most of Siuoxsie and the Banshees, Tori Amos, precious things silent, all these years. Simon and Garfunkel Bridge over troubled waters, George Ezra, ABBA, James Arthur. Rita Ora Anywhere. Joan Jet, bad Reputation, cherry bomb, Pat Benatar, Love is a battlefield,

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  7. You’re lucky. My earworms are all bad church music.

    I have learned to play La-la-la over it; I used the sound from Simon and Garfunkle’s ‘The Boxer’ in between verses, over and over until the original earworm is gone. This happens a lot when I’m trying to get to sleep.

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  9. I have been told that singing God Save the Queen or the American anthem with the same tune will dispel an earworm. I have tried it and it does seem to be effective.

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