Stuck in My Head

When I visualize my mind, I picture an empty … yup, empty … storeroom.

It’s not an unpleasant place. It’s a nice temperature, with good light, a ceiling fan going overhead and a wood floor.

But playing in the air, on some endless loop, are snatches of just a few songs. I’ve known them for 30 years but have never known all the words to them.

"Centerfold," J. Geils Band, 2001

“Telephone Man,” Meri Wilson, 1977 OK, so I am not exactly high-brow.

 

“Navy Blue,” Diane Renay, 1963 At a summer job during college, one of the managers, a nice guy, made mix tapes that played all day long. This was from his tape (back then, really a tape) of 1950s girl-singer songs. (Renay recorded this when she was 17 years old.) He had another of '50s songs where every song was about teenagers dying, like "Teen Angel" (Mark Dinning, 1959).

“I Wanna to Be a Lifeguard,” Blotto, 1978

"Is She Really Going Out With Him?," Joe Jackson, 1979 My best friend sang this in his a capella group in college. I heard it a lot.

And guess what? Even though I've now just looked these songs up, I still don't know all their words.