Last night I watched American Idol, as I tried to thaw out from the FREEZING COLD soccer practice. It must be noted that I’m not a huge fan of this show, but somehow end up watching it as my husband really likes it. I have enjoyed this season though – the singers are talented and the songs have been fairly interesting. Anyway, as I hummed along to What’s Going On, I realized that there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of songs the lyrics to which I know by heart.
A few years ago, I read an article by a woman who had been trying to lose weight for years. She spent years dieting, calorie counting, and obsessed with food when one day she realized all the mental energy that she had spent thinking about weight loss and food could have been more productively used.
This begs the question: how much of my brain space are all of these song lyrics taking up? Could I be much more productive if I didn’t know the lyrics to every song on Sgt. Pepper, or if I couldn’t rap all of “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, a song committed to memory during my time at summer Bible camp in 1988? If someone casually says “Take a load off” I immediately have “The Weight” running through my brain. Is this information squeezing out more important information?
The fact that I’m writing this post probably suggests that my mind is a bit of a wasteland today. So maybe, yes, the song lyrics are taking up valuable brain space.
Keeping that in mind, who is going to win American Idol tonight?
We should go on a cartrip together! I know all of the words to all of the songs, too. The Girl has informed me that sadly I am a horrible singer, so apparently it’s all for naught.
I recently saw a movie with Ben Stiller – the Heartbreak Kid, maybe? – and there was a crazy woman who sang along to EVERYTHING during a car trip and just completely drove her husband nuts. THAT IS ME. Singing (badly) on car trips is the BEST.
I found out the same thing while watching VH1’s “one hit wonders of the 80’s.
I was singing along with every song! My kids were like Mommm!! That’s enough!