Is “music appreciation” still a thing in elementary schools? I fear not. In the United States, anyway, so much emphasis is placed on mastering the basics — reading, writing and ‘rithmetic — that soft stuff pertaining to “art” tends to be jettisoned. Which is too bad, because being exposed to the great music of the […]

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This is an earworm of the worst kind. The inescapable, empty-headed, athletes-flogging-stuff, music-based advertisement that turns out to be nearly inescapable. I despise it, but it for weeks now it comes up ahead of every video clip shown on espn.com. I go to a story, and I have to hover over the “pause” key for […]

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Like many notions that float through the mind of senior citizens, I have no idea where this came from. But, bang, there it was. A recollection of the opening of a television show that appeared 50 years ago, soon followed by a fairly accurate recitation of the lyrics to the theme song of that show. […]

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I am a fan of Appalachian Spring, the finest orchestral work by the American composer Aaron Copland. Much of its 45 minutes are tuneful, but one line of melody is the most pronounced and the most enjoyable. The kind of thing you hum while out on a walk today … tomorrow … the next day […]

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I became aware of this tune incrementally. It is played in the background of a television commercial — for a French insurance company — we have seen many times, here in France. By the time I figured out what was going on in the vaguely uplifting commercial spot (young school teacher finds car wrecked by […]

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Had this one in heavy rotation inside my head almost from the day it came out. “Party Like a Russian” by the British singer Robbie Williams. Have a look at the “official” video, which already has been seen 7.2 million times. Have a listen/look.

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I was reading a story about the planned Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Summer Games, and that took me back to the 1984 L.A. Summer Games, and I was looking at the wiki page … and on the right side of the page it had a link to a snippet of the “L.A. […]

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No. really. That’s the name of the song. By the English band Electric Light Orchestra, in 1974. Which makes it the ultimate earworm song. It does what it set out to do. Have a listen.

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The worst kind of earworm. An infection from a source outside your own head. Ahhhhh! I work with someone who likes to hum, even sing, and he at some point in nearly every day will come around to a tune that has powerful earworm qualities: We’re Not Gonna Take It … by Twisted Sister. Here, […]

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Interesting song, written 80-plus years ago by Irving Berlin. Heavily syncopated with vivid lyrics jammed into all those stop-and-start phrases. Puttin’ on the Ritz. Always interesting. But the version going through my brain?

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