Remember that summer feeling – windows down, wind-blown hair and the summer’s anthem blasting through your car’s audio system? After a couple weeks of that song on the radio or in stores and restaurants, the reasonable reactions are crying, whining, having a nervous breakdown or just losing your mind. Looking closer at the reoccurring annoyance of growing tired of “summer jams,” or anything for that matter, might be easily solved, or at least the blow will be cushioned.
For example, according to Billboard Hot 100, Carley Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” resided in the top 100 songs for 26 weeks, including championing the list as No. 1 for nine weeks.
Remember when the chorus and the melody were catchy and people wanted to hear the song? More than likely, that was during the song’s debut and rise to the top of the charts. But after hearing this “summer anthem” over and over again, it probably got old and slightly painful to hear. The common phrase people use to explain why they have grown tired of a song is being “burned out,” possibly by listening to the radio too much or just not wanting to change their CD in the car.
Changingminds.org said repeated music gets under people’s skins and has an individual effect on everybody.
“People dancing in clubs and waltz-halls commonly go into trance-like states,” changingminds.org said. “Music, rhythm and repetition have a hypnotic effect that can lull people into following a pattern in unthinking ways.”
But summer anthems do not always make people go crazy.
Jonah Lehrer from wired.com said music makes people feel emotional because it affects nerves, especially in the brain.
“When listening to our favorite songs, our body betrays all the symptoms of emotional arousal,” Lehrer said. “The pupils in our eyes dilate, our pulse and blood pressure rise, the electrical conductance of our skin is lowered and the cerebellum, a brain region associated with bodily movement, becomes strangely active.”
Now, this may not be the reason some people just are not gifted in the dancing department, but it helps people understand why they become emotionally attached to a song. An individual song or even a similar melody can be associated with a great family memory or a cruel break-up with a previous significant other – which can help explain sudden anger or crying.
Psychologytoday.com blogger Cathy Malchiodi said music’s sensory power has the ability to incite long-term and short-term memories in a way no other art forms can.
“And triggering recollection of our musical histories reinforces identity, strengthening a sense of self, meaning, and purpose throughout the lifespan,” Malchiodi said.
Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” or even One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” might be personal favorites of some people, but they might also be the bain of others’ existences. Music is a subjective art form and maybe freely and diversely interpreted on an individual basis. But no matter the reason for a love or hatred for a summer anthem or any song, constant repetition can develop into an annoyance or hatred. Point blank: just stop listening. That will save people a lot of grief.