According to Hofmann: The head DJ syndrome
If you’re a well-versed student of psychology or even a casual observer of the practice, you’re aware that the brain is one messed-up organ, clinically speaking.
ItĢƵ like a super computer in a sci-if movie that everyone marvels at until a stupid glitch causes the computer to launch all the nukes to wipe out humanity.
Nothing about the brain illustrates that dire scenario more than the DJ in your head.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, anyone who has ever said they have a song stuck in their head has a head DJ.
I’ve named my head DJ “DJ Head” because I’m not good with naming things, and I figured that name sounded like one a DJ would give to themselves.
While I’m pretty sure most head DJs are similar, I’ll tell you a little about DJ Head.
Right off the bat, heĢƵ a jerk.
“Heeeeeeey, coming up is that slightly catchy song that annoys the snot out of you that I’ll play about 24,000 times! And don’t worry, I won’t play the whole song, just a certain section over and over and over again like a TikTok video!”
ThatĢƵ right. Not only is he a jerk, heĢƵ a jerk who knows how to edit and play song snippets, and heĢƵ a workaholic.
“Heeeeeeeey, DJ Head coming to you live from Skull Studios. ItĢƵ 13 minutes past the midnight hour, but itĢƵ really time to replay parts of that stupid song your wife and kid played in the car earlier!”
I only wished DJ Head talked up the song before playing it like a real DJ. That way, I can at least get a beak from the insane loop of “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift.
However, every now and then, DJ Head will put a song on a loop that I actually like, so heĢƵ not all that bad, but it never lasts as he pulls the rug out from under me every time.
Also, he takes requests, but itĢƵ the equivalent of me threatening a real DJ by holding their favorite pet over a boiling pot of vegetable stew so I can hear the full version of Warren ZevonĢƵ “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” over and over again. But, sooner or later, you get weak or lose your will and itĢƵ back to annoying songs and Fluffy Chowder.
I don’t know what DJ Head likes more, annoying pop songs or commercial jingles. What I do know is I can sing the phone numbers of four plumbers and two heating and cooling companies without hesitation.
I can’t watch television commercials anymore without the dreaded idea that I’m going to be too slow on the “mute” button and be stuck with a jingle for magical wart-removing medication in my head all day.
Now, I know you read this column because I have all the answers (even though there have never been any questions), and the million-dollar question this week is “How do I destroy my head DJ?”
Well, before one can figure that out, one has to know how their head DJ came about, why do they do what they do, why do they do it over and over again and why is it mostly the annoying things that are repeated.
I don’t know about your head DJ, but mine was a product of my parents and my teachers.
While I’m not sure how “learning stuff” has changed since I was a kid, my parents and teachers always had me learn things that were boring and things I hated to study by first writing it over and over and over again until your writing hand is petrified into a claw.
On top of that, when my mother went over homework with me, she’d sing a song and try to put the lesson into that song.
Nothing like learning about tectonic plate movement in the style of a George Throrogood song.
“Movin’ on over…slidin’ on over…the plates are movin’ ’cause the hot molten rock radiation is moving in!”
Suddenly the head DJ makes a lot more sense, right?
Your head DJ is a part of your glorious, yet messed-up mind, clinically speaking.
Sure, itĢƵ annoying, but we have family, friends, coworkers and neighbors who are also annoying, and we deal with them because they’re a part of our lives, just like our head DJ.
So the best advice I can give is simply do with your head DJ what you do with those people in your life and ignore them at all costs, don’t interact with them, smack your head against something and maybe they’ll go away.
Unless, of course, thereĢƵ a need to contact a plumber or explain earthquakes, then DJ Head is back on duty.
According to Hofmann is written by staff reporter Mark Hofmann of Rostraver Township. His books, “Good Mourning! A Guide to Biting the Big One … and Dying, Too” and “Stupid Brain,” are available on Amazon.com.