February 22, 2010

Like A Melody in My Head


For some reason,
Adele's Melt My Heart to Stone
is on repeat in my head right now.
I listened to it earlier this week.
I love the song,
but I don't understand why it's stuck up there.
Also in rotation in my head is
Man Like Me by Beulah and
Take Me or Leave Me from the Rent soundtrack.
Of course, there have been other songs,
but those are the three that have been the most frequent.

Now, I'm aware that I'm not alone.
A few of my friends will randomly
start humming a few bars from a song
and break into singing the chorus later.
I can only stare at them
and share a laugh with them once they feel awkward about it.

Long ago,
before the days of iPods,
during the days when we ran out of cds or cassettes
to play on a bus ride
or when the batteries died in our Walkman,
we learned songs and played them in our heads.
For me, I usually played them when I got bored in class.
But since iPods,
hearing someone sing their favorite track sans accompaniment is rare.
At least before iPods
we knew the choruses and main lines if not whole verses to our favorite songs.
Now... ahn.
I think it's down to just the chorus and melody.

So why then have these songs embedded themselves in my head?

Often when we hear a song played over and over again,
they'll get stuck in our head,
even if we're not a big fan of the song ourselves.
Lord knows I was upset when I couldn't get I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T. by Webbie & Lil Boosie out of my head.
Dammit, it's playing in my head now.
I apoligize if I've done the same to you.
But, I suppose repetition does play a large role in it.

But the songs I've been playing in my head aren't popular,
at least at the monent.
They aren't singles on the radio.
Besides the Beulah track,
I learned of the songs a while ago.
So I ask again,
why are they stuck in my head?

Well, I think I've cracked the case.
I think it's an emotional thing.
Right now I'm connecting with these songs,
and they're speaking to me right now.
They're attempting to tell me something,
or perhaps they're simply extensions of my emotions.
You know, "they" say when you don't know how to say something,
you should sing it. [I feel like I've told you this before.]

Anyway,
pay attention to those songs that
pop up in your head out of no where.
Embrace them, learn them by heart.
And unlock the message they're delivering to you.
Word.

1 comment:

  1. I've heard somewhere that most of the time, songs get stuck in your head because you don't quite know all of the words to them, so your brain will keep playing the tune over and over while it tries to remember the words. For example, I've had "Temperature" by Sean Paul stuck in my head all day, and I only know the one line from the chorus. Right now, it's "We'll Be a Dream" by We the Kings, a song to which I know only the chorus and the first line of each verse.

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