when earworms collide...

[lagilman]

Woke up this morning with that most diabolical of songs, "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" stuck in my head. I had two options.

1. Dash my brains out against the sink to make it stop.
2. Replace it with something else.

But what? Is there really any "good" earworm? And what if it didn't work? "Grandma" is a damn stubborn 'worm.

And then I had a stroke of brilliance. Or insanity, but of a brilliant sort.

I started singing 'It's a Small World After All."

Like two unstoppable freight trains, the earworms built up speed in my brain, each one determined to take over the track...

and collided. My brain would start with one lyric, then try to override with the other, get confused and stop, and eventually it all mangled and faded into white noise.

Success!

Comments

[house-draven.livejournal.com]

Good for you! I've tried that technique, but it never seems to work for me. And I particularly *detest* "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" so when it's stuck in my head I'm miserable.

[rhonawestbrook.livejournal.com]

LOL!

You see? Its things like this that have forced me to love you;-)

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oh, well done!

[davidlevine]

The best anti-earworm for me is "Sledge Hammer" by Peter Gabriel. Something about that song, with its peculiar rhythms, dispels earworms, and yet once the earworm is gone you can easily let go of "Sledge Hammer". I even used it to get rid of "Small World" at Disneyland.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

I think I would prefer the sink

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

I use the Gilligan's Island theme for a dose of audio Drano..

[otterdance.livejournal.com]

The Girl From Ipanema works for me

[dreamsnake21.livejournal.com]

strangely enough, a few rounds of kumbaya always gets rid of earworms for me..

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

Today I received, among other things, A Very Scary Solstice and An Even Scarier Solstice, in both songbook and CD form (helpfully wrapped up in a Shoggoth-tentacle stocking *g*). The latter volume contains the timeless classic "Harley Got Devoured By The Undead", to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer".

*blink*

*blink*

Just felt compelled to share for some reason ... ;)

[safewrite.livejournal.com]

I would have used "The Song that Never Ends" to dispell the Evil Earwyrm, but to each his own.

[vincam.livejournal.com]

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

Brrrr. Christmas music that is also country music. Diabolical.

I started singing 'It's a Small World After All."

That always works for me. Usually I do the alternate lyrics, though. "It's a world of mutants, a world of clones. It's a world of aliens and strange UFOs..."

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh! Please give the whole sheebang. That's a great start, and I would like to know the whole thing.

[vincam.livejournal.com]

Not much to it, really:

It's a world of mutants, a world of clones
It's a world of aliens and strange UFOs
Coverups everywhere, but the truth is out there
It's a 'files world after all

It's a 'files world after all
It's a 'files world after all
It's a 'files world after all
It's an X-Files world.

Guaranteed to cure any earworm you've got.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

That is so cool. OK, so I'm easily amused.

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

OMG, you're a braver woman than I. I'll use "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies to try to dispell earworms, but never dare "It's a Small World..."