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Ear Worms

Spotty01

Spotty01

Well-Known Member
Another musical thread. This is half an autism spectrum thread, half an off-topic thread.

For as long as I can remember, songs have been really, really "sticky" for me. All I have to do is hear a song once, whether it's the first time or the hundredth time, and the next thing I know, the lyrics I can remember or the tune alone starts playing on repeat on my head. The only real way to "remedy" it is either listening to the radio at the same time so that my mind can no longer pick up the tune correctly or "singing" the lyrics and matching tune to a completely different song until it replaces it. For me, this is both a gift and a curse; sometimes it's a good or catchy song I get stuck on my head, other times, it's one that makes me want to never listen to music again or one that puts me in a really depressed mood for a while and make me feel like I'm going to cry at every given moment for no real reason.

I can't tell you a single day in my life where some song wasn't stuck in my head; I usually wake up with a new one every day for some bizarre reason. Once, I woke up with a song stuck in my head that I haven't heard in years. However, on some occasions, I have songs stuck in my head not for minutes or hours, but for days on end (as of now, this has been stuck in my head since I last heard it on the radio... a couple of days ago); the only way I've found to put an end to that is listen to it on YouTube until I just grow tired of it and the earworm ends up being replaced after a little while.

It's definitely a strange trait I have and I'm wondering if this might be an aspie trait? Not the entire "constant earworm" concept, but the ability to pick up tunes and lyrics very easily and remember them for years, even if you've only heard it once (I've known the lyrics to this song ever since I first heard it back in my grade-school days). And, another question out of sheer curiosity: what is the longest amount of time you've had a single song stuck in your head? For me, it would be a country song I heard back in elementary school (I think) and it would occasionally come back, over and over again, up until I found it again in mid-high school. While it wasn't consistently that single song, if there was nothing else, it would be that one... for about six years straight.

That is all.
 
Last edited:
Why do you say "in all honesty"?
Is it your habit to be usually less than that?

Or is it because often people have accused you
of making things up?
 
DONT want to say the titles or they'll drive me to a panic attack
but lasted days
remembering lyrics is good memory maybe neurodiversity
 
tree said:
Why do you say "in all honesty"?
Is it your habit to be usually less than that?

Or is it because often people have accused you
of making things up?
Click to expand...
The latter more than the former, but at the end of the day, it's just a habit of mine, it just feels more... right.

Sometimes, I dont even notice until I go back to proofread my posts.
 
Sounds like you're concerned that
people won't believe what you are saying.

Saying "in all honesty" is an attempt to impress upon
the listener that what follows will be true/
untainted by falsehood.

People do this for various reasons.
Typically when they don't expect to be believed.
 
tree said:
Sounds like you're concerned that
people won't believe what you are saying.

Saying "in all honesty" is an attempt to impress upon
the listener that what follows will be true/
untainted by falsehood.

People do this for various reasons.
Typically when they don't expect to be believed.
Click to expand...
Like I said before, I have had several experiences with people who don't believe anything I say and constantly accuse me of lying to everyone. My teachers and classmates back in my school years, my parents, and even the authorites on one occasion.

The weird thing is that I can't recall a single situation IRL where I used those three words together to begin a sentence though. I see it as little more than a habit I have whenever I'm posting on the internet (people on the other side of your screen can say anything, regardless of truth), but nobody's seemed to notice or have a problem with it until now.

Reading through my post again, it's rather unfitting for the sentence and I may get around to editing it out.
 
I usually remember lyrics to songs rather well also, and most of the songs I listen to are in random languages because I like to pick out the patterns (linguist freak) and translate it. I can remember the lyrics to a whole song in Hungarian or Portuguese or anything else without ever learning the language. Though, at the moment Cantonese is my favourite.;)
 
Spotty01 said:
Another musical thread. This is half an autism spectrum thread, half an off-topic thread.

I had a song stuck in my head since I was 7, unfortunately I didn't hear the whole thing so it took me 26 years to find it so I could listen to it and get it out of my head. It was 'Sons of the Silent Age' by David Bowie, oddly, I found it a month before he died. I wake up with songs in my head as well, and they can last for varying amounts of time. I don't think a minute goes by where I don't have a soundtrack going in my head really, It's kind of annoying...

For as long as I can remember, songs have been really, really "sticky" for me. All I have to do is hear a song once, whether it's the first time or the hundredth time, and the next thing I know, the lyrics I can remember or the tune alone starts playing on repeat on my head. The only real way to "remedy" it is either listening to the radio at the same time so that my mind can no longer pick up the tune correctly or "singing" the lyrics and matching tune to a completely different song until it replaces it. For me, this is both a gift and a curse; sometimes it's a good or catchy song I get stuck on my head, other times, it's one that makes me want to never listen to music again or one that puts me in a really depressed mood for a while and make me feel like I'm going to cry at every given moment for no real reason.

In all honesty, I can't tell you a single day in my life where some song wasn't stuck in my head; I usually wake up with a new one every day for some bizarre reason. Once, I woke up with a song stuck in my head that I haven't heard in years. However, on some occasions, I have songs stuck in my head not for minutes or hours, but for days on end (as of now, this has been stuck in my head since I last heard it on the radio... a couple of days ago); the only way I've found to put an end to that is listen to it on YouTube until I just grow tired of it and the earworm ends up being replaced after a little while.

It's definitely a strange trait I have and I'm wondering if this might be an aspie trait? Not the entire "constant earworm" concept, but the ability to pick up tunes and lyrics very easily and remember them for years, even if you've only heard it once (I've known the lyrics to this song ever since I first heard it back in my grade-school days). And, another question out of sheer curiosity: what is the longest amount of time you've had a single song stuck in your head? For me, it would be a country song I heard back in elementary school (I think) and it would occasionally come back, over and over again, up until I found it again in mid-high school. While it wasn't consistently that single song, if there was nothing else, it would be that one... for about six years straight.

That is all.
Click to expand...
 
now IVE got always look on the bright side of life
and entertained by the part "other things just make you swear and curse "
Eric idle's terrible arch little face
 
I have songs stuck in my head all the time, Spotty. I constantly hum and my coworkers all notice that. So do my parents. There are no specific types either - in fact, even songs that ANNOY me get stuck in my head sometimes! In theory it can pretty much be any song I've listened to, at any given time.
 
I constantly have songs stuck in my head, and usually songs that are not in English or songs without lyrics. I have a more difficult time memorising English-language songs. I tend to listen to other-language music far more than English-language music. There are a few languages that I speak and comprehend well, and as Momo has said I can also memorise a song without knowing what the lyrics translate to. However there is one English song that is always stuck in my head.
Usually it is songs more like this (skip to 11 seconds in) or this.
 
I always have songs in my head. They can last for minutes to days and then just switch to another. I don't even have to think about it. I listen to music when I drive. Music in my room and to sleep. If there isn't music IRL playing, it's playing in my head. Mostly rock songs since that is what I listen to in the car. But, it can be anything. Sometimes it's an old tune or of a different genre. I hum along when alone, sometimes sing, especially if I"m doing one of my favourite things...walking alone in the wilderness.
I know what you mean when you say something like "in all honesty", I would use the term, "believe it or not." But, it is just a cliche done without thinking. If someone asked me why I used the phrase I would reply because you can!
Sometimes I speak or write of something that may sound far fetched so it emphasizes it IS true. And you can..believe it or not!
Song in my head right now: Moonlight Desires.
 
I get songs stuck in my head all the time, but it usually only for a day. There is one song that will stay in my head for weeks if I hear it. It is the obscure old Beatles song, "Rocky Raccoon".
 
I kept hearing Huey Lewis & The News music in my head....succumbed and simply bought their greatest hits for five bucks. Problem solved. :p

 
Bits of songs, rather. On repeat. I wonder if it's my subconscious trying to reach me.
 

I've had this song stuck in my head off and on for the past couple of days. I'm trying to "wear it out" by listening to it a lot.

I apologize for the "uncanny valley" vibes that the characters in the video give off, but this was the only video I could find that played the song in its entirety. :confused:
 
I can't remember every single lyric to every single song I've ever heard, but I almost always have a song in my head. The most common songs for me are Christmas songs like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and children's songs like Yankee Doodle. It is very weird. They kind of play on loop. It's like having faint background music eternally playing in your head. I can ignore it if I want to, or listen in.
 
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