By Chris Cosci

A few weeks ago, I was listening to the radio and the DJ started playing the new single by U2 with the title "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," which I believe was shortened from the working title of the song, "You Got Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of No Matter How Many Times You Try and Try and Try."

Before playing the song, the DJ gushed about how catchy the song was and said that you would instantly be humming the song after hearing it. Not to say I don't like the song or U2, but I was not as amazingly impressed by it as this woman was.

Since hearing it that first time, the song has taken on a journey made by many other songs before it. I will call this journey "The Arc of Death." Let's look at the path of this journey.

The Arc of Death starts out innocently enough. A song gets released as a single and radio stations start putting it in rotation. After a little while, if the song catches the interest of the public, the song will enter a more prominent spot in the rotation. In other words, the radio stations will play it a little more often than other songs.

Once in a while, a song will become increasingly popular and will be put into what industry insiders call "heavy rotation." In layman's terms, this means that radio stations will make sure that the songs is played so often, there isn't a chance you could get through the day without hearing it.

This is where the Arc of Death comes to its peak. After a few days, you will be unable to turn on the radio without hearing the song. In the case of "You Unfortunately Got Stuck in a Moment That You Just Can't Get Out Of Regardless of How Many Times You Keep on Trying," we have a special situation. Since the group is U2, the song appeals to a broader range of listeners. The song is not only in "heavy rotation," but it's also played on every station imaginable - from Classic Rock to Top 40 to generic Pop/Rock stations.

It has now reached the point where all I have to hear is a single note - even a single beat of the drum - and I recognize the song. In frustration, I have flipped the station to find something new and fresh only to turn to another station playing the same song at the same time. I can't get away from it. It's everywhere.

The Arc of Death varies in length from song to song. The song will continue to be played to death (hence the journey's name) until another song makes its way up the path. Then the song will make its way to the end of the Arc as another song takes its place at the peak.

Many songs have traveled along this arc, including the most infamous traveler - The Macarena. However, unlike "Stuck in a Moment, etc.," the Macarena came with a dance, annoying lyrics, and a cloying factor that instilled a desire in me to hunt down the people who made that atrocity and punish them for exposing the public to that kind of torture.

So, how can we prevent songs from taking this journey. One solution is to set a time limit on how long a song can stay in heavy rotation. If we get radio stations to pull songs from heavy rotation after, say, a month or two, this will give other songs a chance to be heard. We can hear new artists and new songs. We don't have to go through the whole year listening to the same ten songs over and over again. And wouldn't that be nice?.