How Many Songs are in Your Brain?

[hexicon]

So I was in the car with a friend the other day flipping radio channels. She was surprised that I could hear a few notes of a song and say, "Prince, Let's Go Crazy, Purple Rain album, 1984." Or "Led Zeppelin, Fool in the Rain, In Through the Out Door, 1979." Needless to say, we're not talking particularly obscure songs, but they're also artists in which I don't even have a particular interest. And yet I'm sure I could name hundreds and hundreds of songs this way. Plus, I know that my musical knowledge is completely eclipsed by the music fans on this site.

So it got me wondering--how many songs are embedded in your brain well enough that you could identify song and artist in a few bars? 1,000? 5,000? 10,000?

[KYYX4ever]

I have no idea what my number may be, but let me offer:

Exhibit A: our past very entertaining [b]Name That Tune[/b] games were a good exercise in seeing how many songs you could identify by just the criteria you mentioned--opening notes.

I love being able to pin down songs on opening notes ! But, I figure for every song I can identify, there are many others I cannot--but other people can.

Hmmm....it gets me thinking now about how many songs there are out there, [i]period[/i].[?]

[Bitter Almonds]

<p align="justify">In the lab, they sometimes put Jack FM on the intercom and I can pretty much name every tune and artist that comes on, much to the laughter of the others. This hat trick does not help me in getting layed[}:)]

[marie3]

A gazillion.

[glokstadt]

More than 10,000? Probally know like 50,000+, now my brain hurts just attempting to name them all.



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[SallyLightfoot]

On a message board like this, if you count 95% of songs that are part of popular culture for the past 30+ years, plus all of the music that we like, plus all the music that we hate (we must be familiar with a song to hate it), we've got to be in the realm of ten thousand songs or more.

[Max Murdoc]

All of them.

[randy]

Hard to tell--I just know that from the Name that Tune contests as well as the music I have, for as much as I know-there is plenty that I should know and can't ID. Sometimes as songs are shuffled I'll be saying to myself--Great tune--what the hell is it!!! Then the vocals kick in and I kick myself in the ass and say-I cant believe I could not think what that was!!

[eight6]

Once you get past N Sync's version of "Baby Back Ribs" and "Violins", I'm pretty much done. Often I'll recognize the song, I just can't come up with the Group/Title. Age I suspect.

[sunzgem]

I was put on the spot the other night with a UB40 song and a Bobby Brown song. At first I said UB40 was Ace of Base... Hah. My bad. That was just embarrassing because around my friends I claim to be the 80's music trivia queen... I was put to shame.[:(]

"My life is a darkroom. One. Big. Dark. Room."

[coop41]

This is a sickness I unfortunately have and I often wonder how smart I would be if I could replace useless lyric fragments with actual important information. I was sadly reminded of this affliction this past weekend when I walked into the room and started singing word for word "Na Na Na Na Na Na Baby Give It Up, Baby Give it up....." [xx(]

[phillyidol]

I literally have them all in my head.(that would explain a lot) I have played name that tune and got every one. I always whistle or sing while I'm working. Most people just think I'm nuts.

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[wherewereuin82]

So many songs, too small a brain.

"Don't Sweat The Petty Stuff And Don't Pet The Sweaty Stuff"

[cookie]

I know lots of songs. My problem is actually getting my brain to process the information and tell my mouth to spit out the title! Too much useless clutter in the old gray matter.