Earworm
An aural phenomenon, but why not visual?
“Earworm” is an age-old term with an agricultural origin. More than a century ago it was first used in Germany to describe a destructive parasite that preyed on young corn. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
In modern parlance, it has come to mean a nagging combination of repetitive sounds that live in your brain and will not go away.
Everyone, from Mark Twain on down, has experienced this irritating phenomenon. I must assume that, in this age of inescapable, recorded background music that somehow finds its way into every corner of our culture, – think elevators, supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, and so on, – the instance of earworm incursion has multiplied exponentially.
There seems to be no end to it – nor a cure for it!
I am currently enjoying a torturous semi-musical riff that has bored into my memory bank, and will not go away! It is part of a classic tune from the Eagles, a 1970’s-era band that is still alive (at least some of its members are) and kicking – so to speak.
It is not unusual to see these aging rockers come out of rehab and reunite with their respective bands. Their graying ponytails are often backlit and somehow still attached to ever receding hairlines as they play to stadiums full of folk who look about like them.
So, it would seem that the earworm is destined to have a visual equivalent. It has yet to be identified and/or categorized by modern science, but it is coming – just wait and see!
William Dunlap
The idea that the earworm might have a visual twin is a good one. I liked the image of the aging rockers with their backlit ponytails playing to stadiums of people who look just like them. It lands somewhere between fond and rueful, which feels about right.
Interesting observation.
I always wake up with a song playing in my head. It's never the same song, and it stays there until I get into my day and other things replace it. But there is one nagging ear worm that will not go away. It was never a favorite song for me, and I never paid much attention to it until I heard the slow version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g0r3kq7baQ - get past the ad), and now it runs almost nonstop when there's nothing else going on up there. I was always disdainful of elevator music until I heard Jimi Hendrix playing once, which slapped my upside the head with the realization that he was now quite retro.
As for eyeworms, that's cause for pause, and a little rumination.