Get it out of my head!
Have you ever asked a friend to hit you over the head with a hammer so the particular song that has been stuck in your head for the last week can finally be removed? By way of concussion, naturally. Then your friend laughs and goes no, I know a better way, and he/she starts to sing another catchy song thereby getting that song stuck in your head for the next week. Electric Light Orchestra describes the phenomenon I am speaking of in the title of their hit song “Can’t Get you Out of My Head.” Seriously, right now I am listening to “Band on the Run” and that incredible guitar riff will now be stuck in my head for the rest of my Friday. Perhaps the Beatles were really talking about getting a song stuck out of their heads when they wrote about Maxwell’s silver hammer.
Some songs are damn catchy and when you listen to them they stick to you like a bug trap. But what makes a song catchy? Recently, York University music scientists released a study that investigated the psychological catchiness of the most glue-like songs. They found that higher male voices that emit vocal energy, phrase length and pitch complexity all contribute to a song’s ultimate catchiness. Using their findings, the scientists released their top 10 list of most catchy songs ever. Here is what it looks like:
- “We are the Champions”, Queen (1977)
- “Y.M.C.A”, The Village People (1978)
- “Fat Lip”, Sum 41 (2001)
- “The Final Countdown”, Europe (1986)
- “Monster”, The Automatic (2006)
- “Ruby”, The Kaiser Chiefs (2007)
- “I’m Always Here”, Jimi Jamison (1996)
- “Brown Eyed Girl”, Van Morrison (1967)
- “Teenage Dirtbag”, Wheatus (2000)
- “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Bon Jovi (1986)
It’s the final countdown, da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da da da, doo doo doo – wait – sorry – I forgot I was posting.
What do you think of this list? Is “We are the Champions” the most catchy song ever. It is a burst of vocal, tribal energy and, yeah, it’s exceptionally catchy. But what about the other songs? Hmm…I think I can think of better ones. So I want to investigate. It’s poll time. I need all of you this time. Let’s figure this out. Is “We are the Champions” the most catchy song ever, or is there another song that has you? I am going to include my list of top catchy songs in the poll below and feel free to choose other and vote for another song if you disagree.
I refuse to RickRoll you. I was thinking about it, but then I decided to do something even more cruel. I’m going to post all of the songs for your listening pleasure. Happy voting!
The Music Court 
Easily It has to be “I’ll make a man out of you” from the Disney movie MILAN. Think about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64
Yeah. It’s true. Some of the Disney songs are exceptionally catchy. Good point. Thanks for getting Mulan stuck in my head, lol!