01.29.08 5:00 AM CST
• Music
• Josh Robertson
Earworm, or ohrwurm as they (apparently) say in Germany, had its little moment a few years ago -- it was on those neato words-of-the-moment lists that come out periodically. An earworm is a tune that gets stuck in your head; a refrain or hook that you just can’t stop repeating. Now that advertising seems our primary means of discovering new music, we often find ourselves afflicted with earworms without having heard the whole song -- or knowing its title -- or the artist. Our latest cryptic earworm comes from a Dewar’s commercial, and it’s a single line. The ad cites the old saying “Minds are like parachutes: They only function when open.” The music is a foot-stompin’ riff that rolls along through most of the ad, then at the very end we hear one line: “Would you believe, I’m crawlin’ up the walls again.” God damn it sounds familiar. Like late-70s or early-80s power pop. The Knack? The Producers? The Flashing Lights? The Jags? All way, way, way off. It’s not old at all, it’s brand new. It’s “Up the Walls” by PT Walkley and the Adventures of Track Rabbit, and it is our new favorite song.
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