Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Earworms

02.10.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 15 Comments

I’m bugged. Somehow, things are getting into my brain, messing with my ability to concentrate while out on the road, and generally driving me nuts.

Those things are earworms.

If you haven’t heard the term before, it refers to those songs that play in your head — over and over and over. If you try to drive them out, they just get louder.

Now, I normally wouldn’t mind a song in my head. I like music. The trouble is, the songs that have been playing lately are unwelcome, because they’re a) irritating, b) bad songs in general, or c) bad biking songs in particular.

A bad song is anything that I never enjoyed listening to, even if it was a hit. Most pop songs of the ’70s and ’80s fall into this category, but there were some real gems from earlier than that. Do you remember “A white sport coat, and a pink carnation…I’m all dressed up for the dance”? Or, “Honey,” by Bobby Goldsboro? “See the tree, how big it’s grown…”

Not only are they awful songs, but they’re particularly bad for biking. When I’m out on the road, I want something that helps me maintain my pace: Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild,” or most anything by the Rolling Stones. But those songs never invade my cranial innards.

Motown? I love Motown! At first blush, it might seem like the beat is a tad on the slow side. But “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops (“Sugarpie, honeybunch”) has a beat that you want to hit on the downstroke of your pedal. I have been known to sing “Tears of a Clown” out loud while pedaling down a lonesome country road.

The bad songs don’t have that kind of beat. Or, they’re way too slow. Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” is a great song, but you don’t want its syrupy strains spreading through your head when you’re trying to keep up a 15 mile per hour pace.

The worst one, though, was the one that got me last week. It wasn’t even a song, but a commercial jingle. For a regional chain of liquor stores.

Got cheer, all through the year — Chocolate, coffee, cheese — And a case of cold beer

Okay, it’s kind of catchy.

Spec’s fine spirits and finer foods — World class service — It’s all about you

But there’s a major problem with it:

Shop Spec’s — Low price amazing — Here’s to you (shout!) — Here’s to savings!

It’s only 30 seconds long! If I’m out for a two-hour ride on the weekend, and that’s the only thing playing in my head… it’s enough to drive a cyclist nuts.

How do you deal with earworms on a ride?

(If you’re not from Texas, and you’ve never heard the Spec’s jingle, here you go — but don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

 

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related

Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // earworms

Comments

  1. Darrell says

    February 10, 2015 at 11:35 pm

    Join the club. Almost every morning I wake up with a song in my head. Usually it’s a good one, but once in awhile a real stinker boils up. The other day I woke up with “My Sharona” rattling in my gourd (What!?!). It made me wonder if I had been abducted by aliens, and they used it in some weird experiment. As far as I know, I’m the only human being on this planet that likes Bluegrass, so I’m reluctant to make any suggestions, but If your game, The Del McCoury Band has a few good strokers — I’m a little partial to their cover of a Richard John Thompson song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” — and if you really want to burn yourself to a crisp you could try an old instrumental called “The Lee Highway Blues”. Be careful though, if you don’t like Bluegrass, and get it stuck in your head, you might find yourself listening to Dodie Stevens “Pink Shoelaces” in an attempt to get it out. HAHA!

    Reply
    • fossilcyclist says

      February 11, 2015 at 2:17 am

      Love Vincent Black Lightning, do a version myself, must look it up.

      Reply
      • Darrell says

        February 11, 2015 at 2:20 pm

        It’s on the “Del And The Boys” album.

        Reply
    • Bike Noob says

      February 11, 2015 at 6:57 am

      “A big Panama with a purple hat band.” Yeah, that’s a bad biking song. Bluegrass wouldn’t work for me, because it’s instrumental, and my ear worms are always vocals–and I’m not big on banjos. (But Flatt & Scruggs never fail to impress.)

      Reply
  2. fossilcyclist says

    February 11, 2015 at 2:20 am

    Recently was doing the lighting for our local production of Bugsy Malone. Don’t like the show much, but the kids were brilliant. ‘So yo wanna be a boxer?’ Has inveigled it’s way into my brain, and I very much dislike the sport. Arghrghrghrghrgh!!!

    Reply
  3. Dan In Iowa says

    February 11, 2015 at 8:05 am

    My daughter just read a thing that says that songs LITERALLY get stuck in our brains…..something about them clustering around certain brain cells. Weird. I normally find another song to replace it. Then THAT one will drive me nuts for awhile, but at least it’s a new one!

    Reply
    • Darrell says

      February 11, 2015 at 2:42 pm

      I’ve seen first hand what your daughter read about. A group from church use to go to a local nursing home on the last Wednesday night of the month to sing. It was amazing to see folks who were so ravaged by the horror of time that they couldn’t even speak coherently, but could sing and knew all the hymns by heart. They all wanted a hymnal, but would not open it — just sit there and sing out from memories older than I am. One old fellow, who had a stroke, use to sing with a local quartet. He always wanted to get up and sing a special. The right side of his face was disfigured, he mumbled when he talked, and drug his right foot, but he would stand there and sing “The Last Mile Of The Way”, a cappella so loud and beautiful, it would make you want to cry.

      Reply
      • Dan In Iowa says

        February 11, 2015 at 3:08 pm

        I got to go to a couple of nursing homes to do a presentation on a bike trip I did a few years ago to New Orleans. In one of those, a gentleman with alzheimers remembered so much of his riding adventures on RAGBRAI while I was talking. Afterwards, he could barely remember enough to have a decent conversation with me, but during the presentation (a Powerpoint deal), he would talk all about his stuff. Very moving.

        Reply
  4. raygarza710 says

    February 11, 2015 at 6:50 pm

    My favorite tune while cycling is Here Comes Santa Claus. You can sing or hum it at any tempo you want. It really works at keeping tempo and it’s so easy to hum, whistle or sing!

    Reply
    • Bike Noob says

      February 11, 2015 at 8:10 pm

      But Ray–It’s February!

      Reply
      • raygarza710 says

        February 12, 2015 at 7:32 am

        Lol yes but it’s still a catchy tune!

        Reply
    • Darrell says

      February 11, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      HAHA! I love it! There’s a group of riders that meets at Nederland HS every once and a while on the weekends. I’ve never road with them, but I’m thinking now I might ride with them, and start singing “Here Comes Santa Clause” out loud to see if I can get them all to start singing it. Thanks for the chuckle. I’ve been draging out my tracks today, and I need it. 🙂

      Reply
      • raygarza710 says

        February 12, 2015 at 7:34 am

        Lol its infectious tune.

        Reply
  5. justjon says

    February 15, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    On U.S. A1A, there is a particular bridge over the Nassau Sound. To the east is the Atlantic, to the west, the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. There is a particular memory of fighting into a gusty headwind, watchng a fierce thunderstorm roll in, and the Carlos Santana song, Black Magic Woman crawling around my brain. I hate to hear the term “epic” used in conjunction with cycling but, it sure seemed pretty epic at the time…

    Reply
    • Darrell says

      February 16, 2015 at 12:09 pm

      Here on Texas Gulf Coast we can get some pretty stout southerly winds. I always say it’s Bob Seger going out, but it Christopher Cross comming back.

      Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d