How to get songs out of your head

Don't you hate it when you're trying to play, but all of a sudden an annoying song gets stuck in your head and you blunder/weaken your position. Do any of you guys have ways to prevent this, it really pisses me off.

The only surefire cure as an even more annoying, catchier tune.

It truly is a downward spiral.

Then how do you have such a high rating?

I clued in quickly and realized that each successive song would be worse than the one it supplanted.  I've had "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin stuck in my head since 1988 and it's really not so bad.

Do any of you guys have ways to prevent this ...?

Prevent it? No. Counteract it, yes. One word.

Mahler.

The "1-800-SAFE-AUTO" jingle works everytime.

::doing a search on Mahler, despite not having this problem::

Edit:  Not bad looking at all for a composer.

I've heard that if you substitute wrong lyrics as the song plays in your bean, the song loses its potency.

When I created this thread I overtook (Insert name here) as the most evil person in the world.

i remember a sci-fi story i read as a kid.  a scientist has a computer write the perfect advertisment jingle that would stay in your head.  they find him babbeling incoherently.  The story ends as one of the people who finds him picks up the earphones next to him and bringing them to his ears says :H'mm, I wonder what he was listening to?

How about the song that doesn't end?  You guys know that song?  With Lambchop?

Josh Waitzkin has some really great advise about this. According to him if you try and block it out the problem will only get worse. As soon as he tried to work with the imperfection and think to the beat of the song it wasn't as bad... 

I didn't bother to read all the posts, but usually I try to sing the song backwards.. it sometimes helps =) ..

I like Waitzkin a lot, but this is the one thing I didn't agree with from his teachings. The problem with thinking to the beat of the song is it's not what you REALLY want. It's a compromise. Yeah it's better than fighting the song but it's not optimal. Let's face it, if there was a button you could push to shut off the music you would push it. So why is the song in your head? Because part of you has a desire to hear it. A greater desire for it not to be there must take place for the song to go away. I have found something that's pretty effective and it sounds crazy, but hey it works! I talk to the song. I mentally say something like, "I love you but you have to go now. I have a game to win." The song stops! Often the song tries to sneak back in and I tell it the same with more emphasis and it goes away for a while and then it usually crops up again. Repeat often as necessary.

Wow! That is interesting. I have really annoying songs in my head. I'll try that technique. THANKS! 

This topic is funny.  I didn't know it could be a real problem.

It's a pretty common problem for the OTB player.

@ gbidari: Wow, I'll try that one!

I like to listen to music while I'm playing Rogue Traders especially  dunno if it helps or hinders tho judging by my results of late it probly making me a little hasty - btw, whatever happened to Shari Lewis ?