Rock-tober 16, 2017

Wikipedia says an earworm is "is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing." The entry goes on to say that causes can include recent and frequent exposure to a song or experiencing something that triggers a memory of the song. The phenomena affects 98% of the population which makes me wonder what kind of earworms isolated tribes in South America and Africa get. Men and women are equally susceptible to earworms, but according to a study cited in the Wiki article, "earworms tend to last longer for women and irritate them more."

The top definition on Urban Dictionary defines earworms similarly as "a song that sticks in your mind, and will not leave no matter how much you try." I love that they also have worst examples:

• "Mmmbop" by Hanson
• "Toxic" by Britney Spears
• any damn Hilary Duff song

"Hooked on a Feeling" is a vintage 1968 release originally performed by B.J. Thomas. It peaked at #5 and barely squeezed into the year end standings, ending the year at #99 on the Hot 100. While Thomas's version used a sitar in the intro, it didn't have that awesome chant we all know and love. I bet it's boring a hole into your head as we speak, right?

For the chant, we have to wait for the song's second iteration. A Brit, Jonathan King is responsible for adding the "Ooga-Chaka" in 1971. There's an awesome write up in PopShifter that says King added the "Ooga-Chaka" to give the song a “reggae rhythm by male voices.” Both the author of the article and I agree King likely had a dubious understanding of the reggae sound.

Folks, it took a Swedish rock band to deliver the song as we know it. Blue Swede released their cover of "Hooked on a Feeling" in 1974 and rode it all the way to #1 on the Hot 100. It blew past the original and ended the year at #20. They changed the lyrics to eliminate drug references in Thomas's version, and not only did they keep the "Ooga-Chaka" from King's version, they embraced it.

This is one earworm that will not go away. It resurfaces periodically, making an appearance in the soundtrack to Reservoir Dogs and in episodes of Ally McBeal. Remember the dancing baby? At one point, even David Hasselhoff released a cover. Today's Millennial crowd likely knows it best from Guardians of the Galaxy. Hey, I'm all for whatever it takes to make the introduction.

Still citing Wikipedia, "scientists at Western Washington University found that engaging working memory in moderately difficult tasks (such as anagrams, Sudoku puzzles, or reading a novel) was an effective way of stopping earworms." However, not all earworms are as awesome as this one. Just put down the Sudoku and let it wash over you.