That *&*&*^ song...

I can't get that blasted song out of my head.

Don't you hate it? You are minding your own business. Just trying to make it through another day. Then you hear it. Some polished tune with a catchy hook.

And it drives you crazy for the rest of the day.

What's rough is when it's a bad song. "Brand New Key" comes to mind. "I gotta brand new pair of roller skates..."

Or one that goes on forever. Think "MacArthur Park." By the end of that song, I didn't care who left that damn cake out in the rain.

The one stuck in my head today isn't a bad one. Remember "Oh Girl"?

"Ohhhhhhhhh Girl/I'd be in trouble if you left me now..."

The Chi-Lites had a pop hit with it, back in the early 1970s. It became a staple on oldies stations. Which we don't know about in Knox County anymore because, amazingly, we don't have an oldies format on the air here anymore. Knoxville radio is about as bad as network TV. (WDVX is a SHINING exception.)

Speaking of Knoxville radio, WIVK used to play the heck out of local boy Con Hunley's version of the song in the early 80s. I probably heard Con's version before I ever knew about The Chi-Lites. GOP guy Brian Hornback was playing Hunley's cover on CD yesterday. This is probably all his fault.

MOR (Middle of the Road) crooner Paul Young had a pop hit with "Oh Girl" in the late 80s. Recording early 70s R&B/pop songs became something of a cottage industry for Young, who later had a hit with Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted."

I don't know how anybody gets any of the modern stuff stuck in their head. Not to sound like a geezer, but I can't even understand half the lyrics. And when I do, I wish I hadn't.

But it could be worse, I guess. I'll take "Oh Girl."

At least it isn't "Achy Breaky Heart."