Embrace the Ohrwurm
If you’ve been a Mountain Gazette subscriber for a while, you’ve probably noticed that every issue has a phrase running down its spine. Ever wonder where they come from?
For our newest issue, Mountain Gazette 206, the answer is a song. Over the summer, Mike and Meghan—Mountain Gazette’s editor and VP, respectively, as well as husband and wife—heard “Waste” by Phish and couldn’t shake it. In German, they call that an Ohrwurm—literally, “ear worm.”
The spine phrases aren’t always song lyrics, though. Some are sayings Mike has heard or read over the years. He keeps a running Notes app thread, adding to it throughout the year and collecting phrases that might one day make their way onto the spine. His all-time favorite, he says, came from George Sibley, who described himself as a writer who “celebrated the romance of ski bummery.”
Those little words are one of my favorite MG traditions. Like the rest of the team, I have a thing for words—and songs. In fact, I was blessed at birth with something called frisson: the psychophysiological response to a really freaking good song. Also known as aesthetic chills or psychogenic shivers, according to Wikipedia.
Because I can’t leave a good song alone, I’ve become an incurable playlist-maker—an affliction I now channel into seasonal playlists made especially for Mountain Gazette readers. It’s become another MG tradition: with the turn of a new season (and often the release of a new issue), a playlist usually isn’t far behind.
Take it on the trail, in the car, or into the pages of MG 206. Hopefully, you’ll find a few welcome earworms along the way.
Listen now on Spotify or Apple Music.
—Hannah
