David Anguish
In an essay with a whimsical tone but a serious point, Ken Budd tells about awaking one morning with the song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" in his head. "I had barely hit the snooze bar on my alarm when [the song] began playing. . . And playing. And playing some more. From breakfast to lunch, afternoon to evening, over and over and over, I heard 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia.' By the end of the day, Johnny had won the Devil's gold fiddle more than 14 billion times" (Ken Budd, "The Hit Parade From Hell," Smithsonian, November 1998, 176).
Noting the irritation of repeatedly hearing a song you like, Budd observes that hearing one you don't like is "like an endless attack of mental hiccups." Nor does he limit the problem to popular songs. Commercial jingles and TV themes also take up brain space which would be better left for other things. As Budd puts it, "It's no wonder I never learned the state capitals - 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' is wasting 50 states' brain space."
He then gets to his point - and the reason we call attention to his musings. He writes, "Of course [such] songs are supposed to get stuck in your head. Hit songs have catchy melodies called hooks. Record companies like hooks because they sell records. . . . The problem is, those hooks latch on to the subconscious like ticks. Then, suddenly, after many years, they spring to life. One reference - a casual comment, an innocent dream - can trigger a long-buried melody."
If the problem were limited to pop songs and commercial jingles, it would be one thing. Not necessarily a good thing, mind you, but not as bad as it could be. But it's not just song lyrics and jingles that latch on to us is it? As citizens of both an audio and a video culture, our minds have been bombarded with literally millions of images. Scenes - and words - of violence and implicit (if not explicit) sex, of crude and disrespectful behavior, of bawdy challenges to the most solemn authorities and institutions. Tawdry images that, like their musical and commercial counterparts, are suddenly, perhaps after many years, triggered by "a casual comment or an innocent dream." Since our actions are led by our thoughts, is there really any wondering why some of the behaviors we witness occur? As Jesus warned, it is "from within, out of the heart of men, [that] evil thoughts [proceed], fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23, NASB).
But if there is ample warning about the problem, there is also teaching for what to do about it. Budd points in the right direction when he says, "I suppose it's all my fault. If the mind is truly a file cabinet, I'm the one who filled it with trash. Jingles and rock songs are junk food for the mind. They're greasy and gooey and easy to consume. (The reason no one has Tchaikovsky in their heads is because Tchaikovsky used more than three chords.) For 30 years, I've maintained a steady diet of cultural Ring Dings. My mental arteries are clogged with 'Sugar, Sugar.'"
If we will live today, we cannot totally cut off the mental junk food which will come our way. Nor can we change past actions which led to the storage of negative images. But we can moderate the damage by going on a mental diet which decreases our junk food intake even as we increase our regular consumption of healthy fare.
"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8, NRSV).