Inner Music in Fiction and Biography
‘Inner music’ or ‘musical imagery’ refers to the music that one hears in one’s own head. For example, an ‘earworm’ is a catchy piece of music that is stuck in one’s head and repeats involuntarily. Part of the work of the AHRC-funded Inner Music and Wellbeing Network is to create a database of public examples of imagined music in fiction and biography. These might be found in published biographies, films, literature, plays, poetry, published accounts, song TV programmes etc.
We are always looking for submissions to this database! If you would like to contribute, please fill out the form linked here.
Biography (1) Cartoons and comics (4) Films (3) Literature (7) Plays (1) Poetry (1) Published Account (1) Songs (4) TV Programmes (7)
10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories
In 2014, musician Emperor X wrote a deliberately catchy song titled 10,000-Year Earworm to Discourage Settlement Near Nuclear Waste Repositories (Don’t Change Color, Kitty) in reference to the “ray cat” idea in nuclear semiotics, attempting to embed a warning message in folklore that would still be remembered in 10,000 years’ time.
An Equal Music
In the novel An Equal Music (1999) by Vikram Seth, pianist Julia compensates for her increasing hearing impairment with the use of musical imagery
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm, S3E4: ‘Nanny From Hell’. Directed by Larry David. 2002. A nanny that had worked at a Loony Tunes theme park is driven to psychosis when she hears the music that was forced on repeat at her job and she constantly repeats it through the episode. Sometimes it is externally heard, sometimes she … Read more
Dr Who
Dr Who, S3E11–13: ‘Utopia’, ‘The Sound of Drums’, and ‘Last of the Time Lords’. Directed by Russell T. Davies. 2007. Professor Yana/The Master has heard drumming all his life, sending him mad. This reflects the dual beating if his two hearts, and affects the way in which he plans world domination.
Garfield: Life in the Fat Lane
One of the Garfield comics by Jim Davis, collected in Life in the Fat Lane (1995), shows Garfield with a song in his head (depicted in music notes on a staff), which drives him crazy until he whistles it to Odie and gets it stuck in Odie’s head instead.
Inside Out
Bubblegum advert is ‘loaded up’ by the brain for regular mental replay
Killing Floor
Jack Reacher, the protagonist of Lee Child’s novels, often experiences music internally rather than through external devices. He has a deep appreciation for blues music, and songs frequently play in his mind as he moves through different situations. This internal soundtrack reflects his solitary nature and sharp observational skills, with music serving as a kind … Read more
Lego Movie 2
Cartoons and comics, Films, Songs
Music which is designed to be catchy and to brainwash the protagnists. The song lyrics are “This song’s gonna get stuck inside your head”
Nothing but Gingerbread Left
In 1943 Henry Kuttner published the short story Nothing but Gingerbread Left about a song engineered to damage the Nazi war effort, culminating in Adolf Hitler being unable to continue a speech. Two key extracts are given below. Extract 1: The minister rose and walked back and forth on the rich carpet. His lip lifted in a sneer. The … Read more
SpongeBob SquarePants
A literal ear worm enters SpongeBob’s brain; his friends are trying to drive it out with another catchy tune
Start Trek: Next Generation
Start Trek: Next Generation, S3E3: ‘The Survivors’. Directed by Les Landau. 1989. On the surface of Delta Rana IV, the away team finds a small music box in the home of Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge. Later, aboard the Enterprise, Counselor Troi begins to hear the music (without having heard it in person) from the box … Read more
The Auditory Imagery of Great Composers
A note of Tchaikovsky’s musical imagination stopping him from sleeping as a child. Agnew, M. (1922). The auditory imagery of great composers. Psychological Monographs, 31, 279-287. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093171
The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon feels like he is descending into madness because he cannot remember the name of the song that is stuck in his head
The Imp of the Perverse
In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Imp of the Perverse (1845), the narrator is a murderer who has succumbed to influences he tried to repress. In discussing what led him to murder, he considers the nature of things you shouldn’t do and thoughts you shouldn’t have and how to respond to them, using unwanted inner music … Read more