In which an annoying coincidence occurs, featuring a bad song and a good book…
There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.”
– Yeah right, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross*
Hate is a strong word – a word I rarely use – reserving it for objects without feelings, like certain foods (doughnuts and tuna), the fork we own with a middle tine slightly out of line, and annoying songs. (I’m aware that behind the songs are writers with feelings, but the writer need never know what I think of their creation, unless they happen to reading this. If so, hello, sorry and wow, all at the same time.)
On the annoying song theme, recently I went shopping with my eldest. In the car parked up next door to us, the driver was rocking out to Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. My eldest knows this song is on my Most Hated** list and laughed at the horrified look on my face. Really, this one is probably top of the list. It’s irritating and has a stupid chorus… how much less could you want? Even more annoying, for some reason loads of people love it. You even might?
The whole day was a music-free one, which is unusual in our household, so this song from the top of my list ruled the day. Which made things even stranger when I later opened the novel I’m currently reading and, right there on the page, was the name of the one single song I had heard that day, out of the hundreds of thousands of possible alternatives…
*Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, I am trying to think how I can see this coincidence as a blessing but all I can hear are the words of the irritating earworm that consequently embedded itself in my head, going round and round and round…
“Run, run, run, run, run, run away!”.
– Psycho Killer by Talking Heads
**JO’S MOST HATED SONGS LIST
- Psycho Killer – Talking Heads (of course)
- Lady in Red – Chris de Burgh (obviously)
- I See Red – Split Enz
- Red Red Wine – UB40 (the word red seems to be a common feature)
- The Cult of Personality – Living Colour
- Grenade – Bruno Mars
- Chi Mai – Ennio Morricone
Hit me with your most hated song and I’ll search it up and hate it with you!
SIDENOTE: If you get earworms, good or bad, find out why in The Conversation and how to get rid of them in Science Focus.
Ear Photo Credit: Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash with all annoying additions from the author
Jo Danilo | Writer 
Literally anything by Green Day.
It all sounds the same as a million other songs, but Billie Joe’s voice is so much more annoying than all of those other songs. And ultra-left-wing punk isn’t edgy anymore when all of the media, the entertainment world, and the government in the band’s (and my) home state shares your views. In fact, I’ve told people that DLTDGB is set in an alternate universe where Green Day never existed, or at least never become popular, just in case anyone accuses me of being inauthentic for having a continuing story set in the 1990s and mentioning tons of other bands but not Green Day.
My friend burned me a copy of American Idiot when it was new, because it was getting such rave reviews and I was curious. It lasted for about a month in my rotation before I got sick of it. The way they took Wake Me Up When September Ends, a poignant song about the loss of one’s father, and tried to reframe it as a negative commentary on the president I voted for, that’s flat-out disrespectful to your dead relatives, among many other things. 18 years later, I still use that burned copy of American Idiot as my coaster.
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Ha ha! Thank you for your awesome rant, Greg! It’s funny how music can really unleash strong emotions, and the simplicity of Green Day songs can make you think you’ve heard them a million times even when you haven’t. I’m on the fence with them after all this time. I can listen without getting too annoyed, and Holiday brings back some good memories. Still, at least you’ve put the CD to good use making sure your furniture doesn’t get a coffee cup rings on it. Good to know it’s been beneficial to you in some way! 😀
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Btw, I’m at a karaoke bar right this minute and someone is singing Psycho Killer 😂😂😂
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You’re f**cking joking! That’s hilarious! I hope they’re making a better job of it than Talking Heads 😆
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She really didn’t 😂
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Oh dear… 😅
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