This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This admission might seem fun or make me appear insane. That’s what makes it exciting!
I tend to think in terms of song lyrics. Derek will agree – I burst into song when a phrase or incident closely matches the lyric or phrasing of a song, usually from the classic rock genre. Example: Driving through Verona, ON I imitate the punchy music of My Sharona and alter the lyrics accordingly. At full voice. With no warning. It’s all part of my charm.
But it goes further. I’ve been known to say that I was “Jackson Browne-ing” on the way home. Take a moment. Yes! Running On Empty! (Now that song is stuck in your head.) This only works when an artist doesn’t have a million separate hits, and they’re well-enough known to make it possible to guess. Other times, I’ll simply incorporate a lyric into a sentence: “come on” becomes “come on Eileen”, with nary an Eileen in sight.
It doesn’t help – or hurt – that a medication I take turns the brain into a radio. No one knows how or why, but it’s one of the side effects. You might get a song stuck in your head, but I’ll get an entire radio show for a couple of hours every four or five days. This has been happening for several years. And I’m not in charge of selecting the station. Sometimes Air Supply will play on a loop followed by a country classic or pop hit from the 1960s. It’s unsettling when it first starts but, like anything, you get used to it.
Do you have a regular thought pattern with any similarities? Maybe it’s book titles, not music. Maybe I’m the only person on the planet like this, but I can’t imagine that I am. And perhaps most surprising (and potentially disturbing to my patient husband) is that I express only about 15-20% of the references that come to mind! Imagine if I was able to use that brain power for something worthwhile?!
I love getting these peeks inside your brain! It just confirms for me that we’re all a little odd — that’s what makes us human!