Broken Record

The entire week that I was in Chicago, I kept getting songs stuck in my head. The most frequent culprit was the song "I'm a Cuckoo" by Belle & Sebastian. It's a catchy, upbeat little ditty, and pretty soon I couldn't help but bob my head back and forth as I hummed a few bars. Understandably, this drove my office mate nuts. I explained my predicament and tried to get him to listen to the song (I have it on my iPod) so he could understand how catchy the song is, but he (perhaps wisely) refused. However, this exchange sparked a conversation about music in general and songs that have a tendency to get stuck in one's head. My office mate suggested "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants. I offered "Particle Man" (also by TMBG). This quickly led to us naming several more catchy and/or super annoying songs, including "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin, "Raindrops Are Falling on My Head", Devo's "Whip It", and Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". Things quickly degenerated into a karaoke/a capella singalong that drove away almost everyone who dared enter our office. By the end of the day I was feeling like...well, kind of like I'm a cuckoo.