Categories of Earworms

Saturday 11 April 2015 - Filed under Pontifications

Category Four: Immediate
A song heard in the immediate vicinity implants itself directly. May have some delay before implanting.

Category Three: Logical
An established or recent earworm segues into another song that has some logical connection: beat, style, album progression, lyrics, etc.

Category Two: Accidental
An overheard phrase, a suggestive sound, an accidental melody recalls to memory some portion of a song, which then establishes residency.

Category One: Subconscious
A song insinuates itself without prompting, but is typical of one’s usual preferences.

Category Zero: Inexplicable
A song long forgotten, or of an atypical genre, or actually actively hated impinges on one’s consciousness.

2015-04-11  »  Edward Semblance