Fall Out Boy and the worst earworm ever

EPISODE 386

Marianne Eloise has had the same Fall Out Boy song stuck in her head for over three years. "It’s Hard to Say 'I Do,' When I Don’t," an relatively obscure cut from the band's 2007 album Infinity on High has taken up permanent residence in her brain as the ultimate earworm. Everybody has had a riff or a melody stuck in their head, but not at this . Eloise, a journalist and music writer, decided to turn her malady into a story. Her pursuit of the science behind "stuck songs" led her to our unique bureau of forensic musicology.

On this episode of Switched on Pop, Charlie and Nate talk about earworms: what they are, why are they so catchy, and how we might get rid of them. Then, Nate confronts his own stuck song: The Lemon Twigs's "In My Head," and in talking to the two brothers behind the group, finds a novel approach to giving an unwanted musical guest the boot.

More

• Read Marianne Eloise’s Vulture article, “My Quest to Exterminate an Earworm”

• Catch the Lemon Twigs on Tour (at your own peril)

Songs Discussed

• Fall Out Boy - It’s Hard to Say “I Do,” When I Don’t

• The Lemon Twigs - In My Head

• Kylie Minogue - Can’t Get You Out of My Head

• Gene Wilder - Pure Imagination

• Dave Harrington Group - Pure Imagination