Don't Write Yourself Off Yet
Earworms Challenge 16 April 2025
Ok, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? I haven’t done an Earworms Challenge since December 2024. Life’s busy, and while I love doing these, I might be the only one who does, so I’ve slowed down on them. Today I just had the urge to do it again—it keeps me sharp, paying attention to what’s going on in my head, and also keeps me writing. Sharing music with others is a Love Language, and I’m hear to show my love for you, random Substack reader. If you care to take the Earworms Challenge yourself, I would absolutely love that! Just keep a list of every single song that takes over your brain for an entire day, make a playlist of those beautiful tunes, and share it here with me in the comments of this very blog piece. We both could come away with some new favorite jams, and that would be fabulous.
So what I’ll do here is include links to the playlists below—playlists in the plural, because I’ve decided to start sharing both a Spotify list and a YouTube Music one. So pick your poison and have a listen! I’ll leave notes on most (if not all) songs below, detailing either what got that song stuck in my head in the first place (which could be as simple as hearing it in the grocery store), and/or why the song means something to me (sometimes I don’t remember what triggered it). Anyway, on to the lists!
NOTES
Fallen, by Sarah McLachlan: I’d all but forgotten about this song until recently, when my friend Jane sang it once or twice at our karaoke night (and she definitely did it justice—she and her husband form a duo called the Shetlands, and you should check them out). I woke up with this song already planted firmly in my cranium, and it stayed put for awhile. This one is a gem, and my favorite line is, “So don’t come ‘round here and tell me I told you so.” I think “I told you so” (and any variation of it) is one of the most hurtful and unloving phrases in the English language, and when I hear people say things like that, I definitely lose some respect for them. Anyway, I think we can all agree that Sarah Mac is an absolute goddess.
Care, by Dance Gavin Dance: My fifteen-year-old daughter Miranda has recently become obsessed with Dance Gavin Dance, so I’ve been hearing a lot of them, including in the car on the way to school this morning. This is one of the ones she played, and the different variations of the line “I know you’re not empty, I know you still care,” kept running through my head. Tillian Pearson’s vocal gymnastics and range are nothing short of impressive.
Strawberry’s Wake, by Dance Gavin Dance: We also listened to this one, which is one of my favorites of theirs. The video is highly entertaining, and whenever I refer to this song, I call it the Airplane Song, since the video setting is on a plane. “La la la liberated!”
Scars, by Papa Roach: This one followed me around when I lived in Louisiana in the early 2000s, even though I didn’t listen to the radio much back then (I was more snobby and selective and just wanted to listen to my own cds). It’s started following me around again for some reason, but mostly by getting stuck in my head a lot—I’m not actually hearing it anywhere. I’ve been thinking for awhile about learning it well enough to do it at karaoke. Anyway, this is one that you rock out to when you’re younger, then you really listen to the lyrics when you’re a little older, and you’re like, whoa.
Shake it Off, by Taylor Swift: This resulted from silly, everyday life stuff. I had my two-year-old in the bathtub, and I removed a toy from the water and narrated to her that I was going to shake it off. Boom—I’ve got a Tay Tay song stuck in my head. A lot of little girls at karaoke like to sing her songs, and that’s how they refer to her sometimes.
The Middle, by Jimmy Eat World: One of my friends from high school posted lyrics to this one as her Facebook status yesterday. Probably the best known Jimmy Eat World song, and yet another one of those you love to jam out to when you first get to know it, then when you really listen to the lyrics, you appreciate it even more. Such a good song and a ridiculously underrated band. Jim Adkins’ voice is magic.
Why I’m Here, by Oleander: Ever have a song that you haven’t heard in years (maybe decades, even) just suddenly pop up onto your radar again, and then it just seems to follow you around a little? Yeah, that’s what’s happened here. I was absolutely in love with Oleander’s song I Walk Alone when I was in high school, and this was the other single released from their February Son album. I saw them open for Collective Soul in Dallas in 1999 and it was awesome.
Strong Enough, by Sheryl Crow: This one just popped into my head out of nowhere, I really don’t know what brought it on. I like to sing it at karaoke.
Scars to Your Beautiful, by Alessia Cara: I heard this on the radio in the car. Great song.
Don’t Take it Too Seriously, by Layne Denton: Layne is a local artist here in North Georgia, and I am a firm believer in supporting locals, so I keep a playlist of such artists that I play regularly. I opened up Spotify and that list was on the screen, and this particular song caught my eye and started running through my head. This is my favorite of his. Layne is an excellent guitarist with an awesome voice, and I highly recommend checking out his other songs, as well.
Paranoid Android, by Radiohead: I sometimes like to pick a favorite album and listen to it while I’m cooking dinner, and this night’s choice was the iconic OK Computer by Radiohead. Paranoid Android is one of my favorites, just how vast it is, with multiple movements and Thom’s haunting vocals. I’ve always wanted to sing this at karaoke, maybe I’ll give it a go soon. Anyway, this one stayed with me even while listening to other songs. And since I was listening to an album, it’s not surprising that the next song stuck in my head was also from that particular album…
Let Down, by Radiohead: This is one of my favorites from OK Computer. It’s also the last one I got to listen to before turning it off to serve dinner.
Movin’ Right Along, by Fozzie and Kermit: I love the Muppets. Even though I don’t think I’ve ever actually watched all of The Muppet Movie in its entirety (even sadder since I do have it on DVD), this song often gets stuck in my head when I’m shifting from one task to another, for seemingly obvious reasons. I also recommend checking out the cover done by Alkaline Trio.
me & ur ghost, by blackbear: I don’t remember his exact words, but my husband Ian said something about ghosts, and this immediately popped in my head. Usually I don’t like breakup songs, but this one is super catchy, and it’s one of the many I only know cos of Miranda.
Fire Away, by Chris Stapleton: Not many people should attempt to cover Chris Stapleton, ever, under any circumstances. I don’t even really like country music, but it’s pretty much impossible to not like him. Anyway, this one is on the list because Ian and I went to our favorite watering hole for their weekly Open Mic Night, and this one kid Logan got up with his guitar, and I immediately knew he was going to blow some minds, as we’ve heard him sing at karaoke before. So he began singing Fire Away, absolutely killing it, and then he got to the chorus. When he belted out “Fiiiiiiiiiiiiire away,” the whole place got quiet. Logan is going to go places. And Fire Away stayed with me for awhile.
Girls, by Rachel Platten: I was posting a photo of both my daughters to my Instagram Stories, and I wanted the perfect song to go with it, so this one came to mind. There’s a girl at karaoke who regularly performs this one, and I had never heard it before that. Rachel Platten wrote this song for her own daughters, and it’s beautiful.
Hank, by Ben Rector: Speaking of songs written for kids, for some reason Girls led my brain to Hank, which Ben Rector wrote for his nephew (before he had his own kids). I honestly hadn’t heard or thought about it in years, but that’s how it goes. Ben is a seriously underrated singer and songwriter, and you’ve probably heard a few of his songs without even realizing it, like Brand New. Check him out if you haven’t before.
So that’s the Earworms Challenge! Not sure I’ll go back to doing monthly ones, but I do love these. I would also love to see your Earworms Challenge! So make your playlist and leave me a link in the comments.
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