Earworms

We all get them. Songs, even just three-note progressions, that play in your head like an iPod on repeat.

My typical earworms fall into two categories:

1. Music I know well and have loved (and overplayed) for years.
2. Brand-new songs I know two lines (or three words or three notes) of.

In the first category, I have "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera. I just saw a link to the new video of Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson singing it in someone's Facebook feed...and without watching it, the song is now stuck in my head. Thanks for that.

But you know what's even worse for me? The music I have to totally, completely avoid all playing of? The music I have to come up with another song to sing in defense to try (usually ineffectively) to keep from becoming an earworm? "One Day More" (or really anything) from Les Miserables. There it goes again...

That one has especially been an issue because of all the parodies and tributes, like my favorite, about eating gluten free:



Those are the earworms that stick. The second category don't last as long for me, thankfully, given that I only know a couple words. That doesn't mean I don't get excruciatingly bored of "no one hears the silent tears collecting" (from Kelly Clarkson's "Invincible") or "hello from the other side / I must have called a thousand times" (from Adele's new song "Hello").

So here's what I want to know: what are your earworms? Are there any that stick with you more often, or is it random?

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