5 comments
Earworm
I’m
not a pop fan.
Make it stop, man.
Can’t you stop it?
In a shop, it
was the first time
that I heard it
(heard it for the first time),
Yeah,
and it’s catchy.
Who’s the tune by?
It’s a loop now—
still repeating
when I’m eating,
when I’m sleeping.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
So
there’s a rhythm
that I’m keeping,
and it’s this one.
Gotta find out
(blows my mind out)
what it’s about.
Help me find the answer!
Who’s the artist?
What’s the history?
It’s a mystery.
Do a web search
for the lyrics…
that’ll help me.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
Much
repetition
is a feature
of the lyrics,
and I find them
uninspiring,
strange and sappy.
But the tune is snappy!
Has a good beat.
It’s on repeat:
snares’ staccato
strike is smashing;
basses pounding,
cymbals clashing.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
It’s
always present—
just a snippet.
Play the whole song?
Maybe that will
solve the problem.
(But it doesn’t.)
Made myself a playlist.
It’s annoying.
It’s destroying
concentration.
In the background,
it’s the soundtrack
for my life now.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
So
every day I
listen to it
from the start and
to the finish,
hoping it will
soon diminish—
Satiate my brain cells.
But it doesn’t.
Here it comes now;
repetition
of a fragment,
with the drumbeats
and the cymbals.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
And
now I’m listening
to some other
music genres
to distract me,
but it’s hopeless.
And I can’t think,
‘cause it made my brain shrink.
I would settle
for another
piece of music
taking over
this relentless
repetition.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
I’ve
tried some New Age,
Bossa Nova,
country, folk songs,
operettas,
easy listening
classic rock and
heavy metal head bang.
All I hear is
this tune, playing,
always worming
through my ears and
taking over
thoughts and actions.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
I
called the doctor.
“Am I crazy?
Memory is
getting hazy—
all except for
this dilemma.
Don’t know how to stop it.”
But the doctor
only laughed and
didn’t bother
to consider
my condition
to be harmful.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
“Oh,
Doc,” I pleaded,
“Let me come in.
When you see me,
you will realize
my affliction
needs some treatment.
Anything can trigger!”
So he saw me
in his office;
didn’t seem to
make an impact
even when I
sang it for him.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
“Well,
this condition,”
shrugged the doctor,
“has a name. It’s
very common.
Rather pesky,
but it’s harmless.
Musical obsession.
You could call it
mental hiccups,
neural nonsense,
or persistent
auditory
fabrication.”
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
So,
guess I get no
satisfaction,
resolution,
or assistance.
Now, I ask you,
what would you do?
Try a little self-help?
On a web search,
found suggestions:
walking faster,
walking slower,
chewing gum, or
working puzzles.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
All
right, I’ll try most
anything to
clear my brain of
this incessant,
irritating
composition.
(I’m not optimistic.)
I’ll go walking
at a pace that’s
anti-tempo;
break the chain of
throbbing rhythm,
pointless lyrics.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
I’ve
tried a week of
walking backwards,
slower, faster,
skipping, twirling.
No relief; the
song is ceaseless.
Lost a pound a day, though!
Heading to the
store to get some
chewing gum. It’s
known to work by
commandeering
music memory.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
This
big assortment
of the gum sticks
cost me ten bucks.
But it’s worth it
if it blocks the
function of my
auditory cortex
to remember
words and rhythm
of the jingle.
As I’m chewing,
it is fading,
so I’m hoping…
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
But
every time I
finish chomping,
here it comes—just
sneaking up and
taking over
my attention.
Now my jaw is aching.
Called my dentist.
Went to see him,
and explained the
great conundrum.
In the office,
it was playing…
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
“Hey!
That’s the one!”
I shouted out,
so loud he dropped
his little mirror.
“Shut it off, please!
I can’t stand it!”
“Let me take some X-rays,”
he suggested.
When he read them,
he explained that
I’ve developed
a dysfunction
from the chewing.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
“Gum
is off the list,”
he said to me,
“And you will need
an appliance
called a mouth guard.
(Hope they’re not expensive!)
“Your temporo-
mandibular
dysfunction is
the product of
a weakened jaw.
No gum for you!”
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
Now
the only thing
I haven’t tried
is something like
a puzzle that
will occupy
my memory.
Crosswords or sudoku?
I tried them both;
then Rubik’s cube,
a game of chess,
and anagrams.
I fell asleep,
and there it came.
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
🎶
Hey!
I’m obsessed now.
It’s the best. How
did I miss that?
It’s a winner!
Tops the charts, and
It’s a smash hit.
I can’t do without it.
There’s a rhythm
that I’m keeping,
and it’s this one.
Has a good beat,
and it’s catchy.
Listen to it!
Words are kinda sketchy;
little bits of nonsense
put together with this:
Cling-clang boom-boom
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
Shaka-shaka snap-snap!
It’s a mind trap.
What a mind trap!
(Yeah…)
🎶
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5 comments
Words are kinda sketchy... Oh, no! Thanks for that... Thought it would be hilarious for the doctor and the dentist to get the bug. Great poem, great use of prompt.
Reply
Well, don’t know what happened there… I replied, and then it disappeared. I think the doctor and dentist DID get the bug; it’s just not in the story! Thanks for reading!
Reply
Hi Cindy, This story made me think of all of those songs that are now popularized, because of TikTok. We only get like a couple of seconds for each one so most of us don’t even really know the full songs, we just know that little blurb that has become extremely popular, and now music streaming services, like Spotify have create an entire stations out of helping people to listen to the full song that they know so well from a tiny 15 second interval. Your choice to repeat the chorus throughout the story, felt like scrolling through social med...
Reply
Cindy, the story repetition mimicking the song repetition was brilliant. Despite it being tedious to read after a while I found it very effective. Good use of the prompt and spoke volumes about quick fixes that people jump to that may fix one problem but can be the root cause of another as we saw with the chewing gum. Your layers are subtle as the most obvious layer is the surface immediacy of the song lyrics. But the MC in the background trying anything and everything to rid herself of the song lyrics puts herself in an almost frenzied ...
Reply
Thanks, Lily! I appreciate the detailed comments, as always. Yes, the repetition of the chorus was tedious, but… I did feel it was necessary to make the point of how annoying it can be. I come from a quite musically inclined family and am very prone to earworms, And detecting rhythms. Sometimes the only fix is to replace the current one with something else! ; )
Reply