It usually does the trick. I think that trying to engage the earworm activates certain neurons that sustain it, but the imperative of actual sensory input competing for those same neurons disrupts the pattern that's gotten stuck. YMMV

now you'll hear it in your head for the next month

you're welcome!

It's probably better to have a slightly overeager prediction system which sometimes gives false positives than one that isn't as active, because false negatives could lead to your death. That includes things like noticing that birds suddenly stopped singing. Maybe it's nothing, but you can see the use of a subconscious background process that has is eagerly making predictions that would then have an error, that could potentially save your life.

Thinking Fast and Slow has a wonderful example of the veteran firefighter who knew to order people out and then later realised that it was his ears feeling unusually warm (that was the clue to the hidden fire under the floor) that made the area unsafe.

If there are alien life forms out there, I would expect them to have evolved similar systems.

…and this is why AI generated music sounds like shit, because the systems lack those evolved aspects of life, which coupled with emotions, create music.

I absolutely hope the AI sector is forced to pay musicians and writers for copyright infringement whilst trying to put them out of a job and devaluing the economic viability of an already repressed industry. You may disagree with this perspective - I happen to want US copyright reform to correct the overly long terms of protection Disney lobbied for - but I’d like you to present your arguments against my position in response so they can be given consideration.

Also if you’re pro AI music generation without compensation, then show me your playlist and prove to me there’s actually people in this world who listen to that shit. I’m genuinely curious how many pro-AI generated music evangelists actually turn off human music in favor of what they claim to support. Basically arguing against paying artists is a morally bankrupt straw man right now and should be set on fire at every opportunity.

What I try to do is pay more attention to the earworm. If it's lyrics, what are the lyrics saying? (and look them up). If it's instrumental music what are the emotions? What was the time when I last heard it and how was I feeling. What is the purpose of the earworm - what message is it saying? I treat the earworm as if it was my subconscious trying to tell me something. Contemplate and listen properly to your earworm.

Often this strategy happily removes annoying earworms and sometimes it tells me some new useful information. It doesn't give me any deep insights or epiphanies just something like "oh that fun sounding song was actually sad - about a girl who lost her baby, I didn't notice now I do"

Once or twice I've noticed something strange. The earworm actually increases in volume (sometimes at a loud pub level of sound) but only due to or in response to the IRL situation that I find myself in.

Picture a radio playing the song and imagine yourself slowly turning down the volume and the song getting quieter until it has gone.

This used to work for me but over time I’ve had to extend it with imagining switching the radio off at the end, unplugging it, and chucking it out the window so it smashes on the ground so no chance of it turning back on!

Almost all of the explanations here boil down to descriptions of the earworms themselves, rather than an answer to WHY we get them. There are some things about short term memory and the "phonological loop" peppered in to make it sound scientific, but again those just boil down to "it's a short melody that you can hold in your memory". But of course, even after all this, none of these things are actually explanations at all! They are post hoc observations masquerading as explanations, like trying to explain "why" birds migrate by describing how long they fly, and what direction they fly in.

Harmless? The most annoying kind always come to me when I'm having a bout of migraine or a stress headache, often making them worse.

> What makes for a good earworm? Based on what research there is, the most potent earworms tend to be short, simple, and repetitive. And catchy ...

Pianist Ludovico Einaudi is famous for his minimalist tunes. No wonder most of his pieces are earworm-worthy; ex: I Giorni https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uffjii1hXzU

Anyway, ever since a certain Lil' Jon song came out in 2009, my brain keeps trying to hear this effect in Sin as, "Shots shots shots shots shots...." It's totally inappropriate for the song, and my brain doesn't actually hear the word, but it's convinced if it keeps listening and focusing, the word will come through clearly.

It's a great illustration of the brain having a weakness for certain patterns and having confirmation bias so strong that it will literally keep looking for confirmation for years without getting it.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEWdjtMmqGo

Left with a strange desire of lullaby recollections