Recently, I learned that John Philip Sousa is the composer of The Liberty Bell. Many of us know this as the theme music for Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

He has a tie to my Mid-Western region of the USA, having composed a Foshay Tower March for the self-same Foshay Tower in Minneapolis. His orchestra played it the one time, the check bounced, and he never played nor published for the rest of his life.

But the reason I researched him reveals a part of my psyche I have tried to keep hidden. You see, I have John Philip Sousa ear worms. Seriously. Stars and Stripes Forever figures largely here, as there are many sections that all come together at the end. I listened to the whole piece just a few days ago. I forgot about the Piccolo. I smiled

You see, I needed to be able to name the terror. Then, perhaps, I can come to terms with the ear worm.

So I found the Wikipedia page. The one with all 137 of his known Marches. One by one, where there are linked audio files, I listened to the intros. Nope. Nope. Nope. Not that one either. I’m far less familiar with John Philip Sousa’s œuvre than I would have guessed. With the exception of just the two marches that my grey matter seems to adore, and the one pop culture gave to me, I thought perhaps two or three more had more familiar themes than the rest.

Anyway, my brain also loves to fire snippets of The Washington Post my way from time to time, as well.

So, which comes first? The John Philip Sousa or the dissociation?

There is one more ear worm. One in a similar vein. I know its name.

I will not speak of it here.