It's Making My Head Hurt

A few days ago I wrote that there is no bad music.

I may have overstated it.

Several months ago, on a flight from Egypt to the U.S. I had a layover in Frankfurt. The plane sat on the runway for about an hour and a half, for whatever reason that planes just sit there. It was hot and we were tired and sitting on coach on Lufthansa isn’t all that comfortable.

While we waited, the airline pumped the same song through the speakers, over and over again. It wasn’t very loud, just enough volume to hear what sounded like an off key European singer repeating the same annoying melody over and over again. We couldn’t hear the words, just the tune. Just the annoying tune.

Again.

And again.

For the entire time we sat on the runway.

That was back in October.

The song has made its way stateside.

Last night’s musical guest on SNL was a woman named Lily Allen. I’d never heard of her so I turned down the volume, I couldn’t hear the words, just the tune.

All of a sudden this sense of tension built up inside of me. I couldn’t help but wonder when we were going to takeoff, why the air was so stagnant, why I was so uncomfortable! Odd thoughts for someone sitting on a comfy couch in his own living room.

I slowly turned to the screen and turned up the volume.

It was the song. It’s called Smile, and just thinking about it is filling me with a sense of rage.

Maybe it’s not the song itself, (although I think it is) maybe it’s the environment in which I first heard it. But it’s stuck in my head again and I’m not at all happy about it.