4.13.2005

My musical OCD confession

Lately -- okay, for the last several years -- throughout the day and night, I will be found beebopping or doo-de-doo-ing a song, the melody of any catchy song, not the words, internally or, if alone, out loud, and at the end of any verse or chorus, at a time of my choosing, I suddenly finish it off with a terrible, cartoony ending-flourish, a scale-sliding, skibby-doo-wah, razzmatazz-mammy finale -- like, if I were on stage I'd wind up on one knee, whipping off my hat to the audience. Then immediately, keeping up whatever rhythm the "root" song happened to be in, I launch straight into my own, heavily mutated, elaborate version of "Mrs. Robinson" in the same style and the same key. What I'm saying is, every stray song in my head ends up, at some personally delicious moment, morph-medleying into my sick and very private "Mrs. Robinson." I mean all the time. It's just part of me, of whom I have become. It makes me a little nauseated and anxious to contemplate the time and energy I waste on this habit. And hating myself slightly for it only seems to amplify the perverse pleasure. My other musical tic is to doo-de-doo "Lady Madonna" when I walk anywhere. My natural walking pace is precisely the tempo of that song. They just go together and that's that.

Does anyone else do stuff like this?

2 comments:

TLB said...

For years, since I was a kid, I would have this weird little tune in my head whenever I walked anywhere and it's only recently, having watched the movie version of "Chicago," that I realized it's "Mr. Cellophane." Now where the hell did I pick that up back in the seventies? My parents never took me to see the musical. They never saw it. No one I knew saw it. But I got it somewhere.

Minnie Mouse said...

I know of a 12 year old child who always hears continuous music, non-stop! They told me they hear music in a medium-loud volume and the tunes play over & over, then changes into new melodies, This has been going on as long as they can remember! The only respite they get is when they go to bed! If they get stressed or tired, the music gets loud & jumbled. What helps them is getting the music out by playing on the piano. They also get relief by focusing on video games, TV, computer, friends, etc. The music just hides out in the background until it turns itself up again. A good night's sleep and a breakfast with protein helps too. This child takes Depakote and a Vitamin B complex to help soothe the brain. They also take Focalin for ADD. Their parents don't want to give them any SSRI's. How can this kid get help??