By Candice Montenegro, Contributor
INQUIRER.net
THE OTHER day, I had a really bad Last Song Syndrome (LSS) moment. I was just getting out of the car when I heard the ad for this year’s radio ad awards (the chipmunk song about mixed nuts), and I was singing it the entire day. Usually, the cure for LSS is to listen to the song in full, but I never heard the ad again so I went to bed with the awful song still playing in my mind.
LSS, if you still haven’t figured out, is when you hear a song and it gets stuck in your head, usually without you meaning (or wanting) to. I think LSS is every advertisement jingle’s mission; that way they can make you subconsciously want their product or something.
Singers and songwriters probably think the same thing. If a song is LSS-worthy, then it’s more likely that the person will enjoy the song and buy the album. So I guess a song’s LSS-worthiness equates to its success somehow. There are songs that are just catchier than the others, and these songs are usually the ones that make it to the top of the charts. So what makes a song LSS-worthy?
Songs with lyrics that are easy to memorize are usually easier to get LSS-ed to. It’s easier to repeat the same chorus again and again than to rap three different stanzas in your head (unless you’re into straight up gangsta rap, which is a different story altogether). It also helps if the last words of the lines have ridiculously rhyming words. At least you’d have a bit of help remembering the next word to “and it’s only for…” if you know that the last line is, “and my love is true.”
It”s easy to get LSS-ed to songs that repeat certain words, phrases or syllables. When you sing “Ella ella eh eh eh,” the constant repetition kind of gets you hooked. The downside to these kinds of songs, however, is you forget the rest of the song and you”re stuck with just “to the left, to the left” (with matching hand gestures) until you completely annoy the person you’re with.
Dance songs are usually easy to get LSS-ed to, probably because of the bouncy, happy beat. One song that has great LSS potential is “Low” by Flo Rida. I can’t say how many times I’ve walked in a crowded place and I”ve heard random, people singing, “boots with the fur, fur…” Maybe it also has something to do with the danceability of the song, which makes it easier to remember. The “Papaya” song only has “tus” and “dus” in it, but it gets stuck in your head faster than you can say Edu Manzano.
Really good songs are usually easy to get LSS-ed to. I get LSS-ed easily to songs by John Mayer, Alicia Keys and Ne-Yo. Then again, the criteria of a “good song” would vary from person to person, and that’s just my personal taste. At the far end of the spectrum, really crappy songs are also very easy to get LSS-ed to. Anything that asks me to “yugyog” or “giling” not only gets on my nerves but also gets into my very easily LSS-ed mind. Again, this is all a matter of taste, and some people might actually enjoy singing these songs over and over.
A song’s LSS potential all boils down to the right lyrics, the right groove, and the right time. I personally like it when I get LSS-ed before I meet up with friends and I pass on my LSS to them. The worst time I had LSS was right before a crucial oral exam and a really bad OPM song was on continuous loop in my head. Sometimes, an LSS can even be a conversation starter, when you’re sitting beside a cute guy on the MRT and you unconsciously sing the song out loud. Just better hope you’re not singing chipmunk-style about some brand of mixed nuts.
