How To Get That Song Out Of Your Head

I was stuck in a CVS the other day waiting for the people in front of me to figure out how to use the self-serve scanners because that’s the only way you can make a purchase anymore and my general irritation with the state of things was only heightened by the fact that I was forced to endure an entire performance of 10cc’s “The Things We Do For Love,” a song which makes me sad because it always reminds me of the ’70s, America’s Saddest Decade, and also it is almost impossible to get out of your head for weeks after. It is an “earworm,” the science of which you can read about here if you’re so inclined. I only bring this up because of a fantastic tip someone posted in response to our recent bit about “Tom’s Diner,” which is that humming the “da da da da da da-da da, da da da da da da-da da” part of “Tom’s Diner” aloud is a nearly foolproof way to knock an earworm of your head. Having used this method in hopes of eradicating “The Things We Do For Love,” and its terrible memories of “Dance Fever” and Smokey and the Bandit and Star Wars trading cards and everything colored brown and green and all the terrible tiny heartbreaks of childhood, and finding it to be successful, I think it is important that I pass it along to you.