This week has been so busy that it’s going to be a completely different kind of challenge for me to write this up, as I actually did this Earworms Challenge four days ago, and there’s a good chance I’ve forgotten most of what brought these songs to mind. But this is what I do, so let’s gooooo!
What’s an Earworms Challenge? That, dear reader/listener, is when I keep track of every song that gets stuck in my head for an entire day, and turn those songs into a playlist for you. And I usually write about the songs and what made them stuck in my head, or if I can’t remember, then I’ll tell you why those songs are meaningful to me in general. I do this once a month, and it’s kinda weird that I got through so much of September before I actually got to it. As I said, life’s been busy.
This month’s list is pretty good. I’m thrilled cos my favorite band, Weezer, made it on there (they often don’t, sadly), and of course AJR did, since I spend so much time with my firstborn. It kinda feels like AJR is just part of who I am now. Some of this was influenced by a few of my Karaoke regulars, and there’s even a local artist from my hometown on here. And as always, plenty of ‘90s tunes, because I’m Kristen. You’re welcome. So here’s the list!
Notes:
Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next), by AJR: The opening line to this song is, “Your eyes are open, so never close them.” Pretty sure it got stuck either when I opened my eyes or when baby Betsy opened hers. This song is absolutely fabulous. The entire album is, actually, but this song is the final track (as its title suggests), and it closes everything out flawlessly. Definitely listen to this one, but do yourself a second favor and play all of Neotheater and you’ll be glad you did. Oh, I do remember for sure that the part I kept singing was,
“They wanted heaven from me, I gave 'em hell
Now they want something bigger, I'm overwhelmed”
And that is really fun to sing along with.
Torches, by XAmbassadors: I don’t recall exactly what got this stuck. It was only there briefly anyway, as it was quickly replaced by the next one. My Dad and I have a tradition of going to see any new Transformers movie together in the theater, and I know this was the track playing with the credits for The Last Knight, which is one of the ones with Mark Wahlberg. Anyway, pretty much anything XAmbassadors do is worth listening to.
In the Garage, by Weezer: The Blue Album (it’s THIRTY years old now!) is one of my favorite albums of all time. Deserves to be listened to in its entirety, completely uninterrupted, and on a regular basis. Anyway, I think somebody mentioned Dungeons & Dragons, so the first lines to this song popped up: “I've got a Dungeon Master's Guide, I've got a 12-sided die…” Honestly, the nerdy Mancave he sings about definitely sounds like a great place to hang out.
Kennedy, by Andy Thacker: I’m not sure why this got stuck in my head, but I’m not surprised. Andy is a local artist in my hometown, and I firmly believe in supporting local artists, so I have a couple playlists and stream my favorites almost daily. I highly recommend getting involved in your local music scene and supporting those musicians, it means so much to them! Andy just released a new EP earlier this month called More Than Miles, and it’s a great listen. Here’s a link to it on Spotify so you can check it out!
idontwannabeyouanymore, by Billie Eilish: One of our newer Karaoke regulars had done this song a day or two before, so it just popped into my brain. I have this album on vinyl but I haven’t listened to it nearly as much as it deserves.
Heart Medicine, by Judah & the Lion: I love this song, and I have from the moment I heard it. In fact, I’ve already written a blog piece on it, since it came out right around the time of baby Betsy’s heart surgery. I hear it almost every day because I have it on a playlist of songs that Betsy likes. If you’d like to read more about why it’s so significant to me, check this out:
Not So Usual, by Jason Mraz: This is one of Jason’s early early songs, and as I’ve been a fan since 2003 (I met him once that year!), this song goes way back for me. The particular line that got it stuck was “and despite of her bi-polar roller coastering,” because Betsy had either gone from really inconsolably upset to laughing her head off, or vice-versa. As she does.
I Will Buy You a New Life, by Everclear: This was always one of my favorites of theirs, even though it’s not from the Sparkle and Fade album, which I knew like the back of my hand as a teenager. Anyone who’s ever been poor can appreciate this song. I’m not sure why it was in my head that day, but it’s wonderful. I can remember my sister playing it on repeat when we were in high school. Good stuff.
Gotta Beer in My Beer: A Tribute to Bro Country, by There I Ruined It: Ok the song of theirs I originally had stuck in my head, I cannot include it on the list, as There I Ruined It has very few songs on Spotify. At this point, I’m not sure which song it was, but when I went to look for it, I found this one and it immediately lodged itself in my cranium. This song is hilarious. I love a lot of their stuff, most of which is on Instagram, as other platforms have removed many of their songs due to copyright laws that they didn’t actually violate (they do parodies, which are protected under those laws). I first heard of them when my husband (who was then my boyfriend) Ian sent me this hilarious video:
Anyway, Gotta Beer in My Beer is infectious, and it does sound exactly like any Bro Country song out there. I recommend following There I Ruined It on Instagram, as they often do famous songs in the style of completely different artists, which sometimes end up just being really funny, and other times just sound really good.
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, by Maren Morris: I didn’t know Maren Morris had covered this Elton John classic until one of our Karaoke regulars started performing it. Karaoke is probably the reason I had it stuck in my head, I’m sure. This cover is from a compilation tribute album to the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Head Like a Hole, by Nine Inch Nails: Going from Elton John and Maren Morris to Nine Inch Nails? Yup, that’s the kind of thing I do. For the life of me, I can’t remember what caused that transition. It did lead to a conversation with my eldest about Miley Cyrus’s episode of Black Mirror where she’s a pop star being controlled by her abusive aunt who has her drugged into a coma when she tries to do things her own way. It features several NIN tracks and some reimagined versions of them. I’d prefer Nine Inch Nails to most pop stars, any day.
It’s All Been Done, by Barenaked Ladies: This was playing in the grocery store. I was telling my daughter Miranda about how BNL decided they needed to put something fun like “woo hoo hoo” in a song after a previous one they’d written had been particularly wordy. I want to say they were talking about the song Brian Wilson. Which I also love. Anyway that little factoid was in the liner notes to their Greatest Hits album.
Monkey, by Counting Crows: This got stuck in my head earlier during the day but I don’t remember exactly when, I just happened to remember to add it to the playlist later in the day. I think I was reading Betsy a book that had monkeys in it. This is a lesser known song from Recovering the Satellites, the excellent follow-up to the masterpiece that is August and Everything After.
Hey monkey, where you been?
This lonely spiral I've been in,
Hey monkey, when can we begin?
Hey monkey, where you been?
IDGAF, by BoyWithUke and blackbear: Miranda was playing this one in the car and it stuck with me after the fact. Talk about angry breakup songs, this one’s pretty brutal but fun to sing along to. Great for when you need to blow off some steam. My favorite line is, “Give me back my hoodies or I'm kickin' down doors.”
Cowboy, by Kid Rock: I don’t really know why this was stuck in my head, but I’ve always liked this song. I wouldn’t really call myself a Kid Rock fan, but most of the stuff from Devil Without a Cause is pretty damn good.
My Baby Loves Me, by Martina McBride: I learned this song during the very brief period of time during middle school that I dove into Country music. And let’s be real, when it comes to Country, the ‘90s were absolutely golden. This song has been on my mind cos I’m wanting to give it a go at Karaoke. While Country isn’t really my thing, I’m actually pretty good at singing it. We shall see how this one goes!
Gone, by Switchfoot: I offered Miranda a concert tshirt I got when I saw Switchfoot and Colony House back in 2019 (that was a killer year for concerts for me). The shirt is waaay too small for me (it’s sized as a large but yeah, no) and it’s just about the right size for her. She said she likes Switchfoot but just doesn’t really know much of their stuff, and she wants to listen to more of it. Everyone should listen to more Switchfoot. Everyone. Musically, they are the Ultimate Good. This led to Gone being stuck in my head. Such incredibly clever lyrics. You can’t not like it. I also recommend checking out their version of it with Owl City. For the 20th Anniversary of The Beautiful Letdown, they re-released the iconic album and asked friends to reimagine their own versions of all the songs—we’re talking Jon Bellion, Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots, Relient K, the Jonas Brothers, and more. The whole collection is wonderful.
Well that’s it for this month’s Earworms Challenge. Are you willing to take on the Challenge yourself? You can do it, I have faith in you. And I’d love to hear what songs get stuck in your head. Make your playlist and leave a link in the comments, and I will listen! Thank you so much for reading! Get yourself subscribed if you want to keep up with all my playlists, and you can check out my other Substack where I write about baby Betsy at
. Until next time, keep on listening.