Leave it to the clever folks at Apple. Soon after deleting U2's new album Songs of Innocence from my Apple iTunes account, I began hearing Bono's familiar caterwauling in my brain.
I'm not sure how Apple accomplished this technological feat but it is quite impressive. I'm just worried about any possible brain damage from continuously hearing the seminal rock band's latest album while eating my breakfast, taking a shower, conducting business or trying to sleep.
In a unique marketing campaign, Apple teamed up with U2 to automatically download the album for free to 500 million iCloud accounts in 119 countries across the world this month. The album was scheduled to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iWatch. The giveaway backfired, however, with numerous user complaints about having the U2 album synced to their devices without their permission.
I was one of the many iTunes users who sought to remove the free U2 album. After repeated attempts, I was finally successful by following a number of Google links that sprung up with tutorials on "How to Delete/Remove U2's Songs of Innocence." Or, at least, I thought so.
But then I began hearing what sounded like the album's opening bouncy track "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" in my sleep. At first, I thought it was the clock radio. When I realized it wasn't on, I checked to see if perhaps I'd left the TV on in the other room. It wasn't. Was it coming from my neighbor's house? No such luck. It seemed much closer.
Like a bad dream, I soon discovered that the entire U2 album was following me from room to room like Muzak in a department store. Only it was in my head! Truth be told, I kind of enjoyed the song "California (There is No End to Love)," but the rest of the album I found pretty meh.
After a sleepless night with U2 songs ringing in my ears, not knowing what to do, I contacted Apple customer service. But when I mentioned the phenomenon, they were not helpful, instead directing me to their website. I asked if there was an application or site where I could remove or delete the album from my brain. The woman laughed.
So here I am, stuck listening to U2 songs like "The Troubles," "Volcano," "Cedarwood Road," "Every Breaking Wave," "Song for Someone" and "Iris," wondering if I'll ever get U2 out of my head.
Apple, if you're reading this, can you please help? Or, at the very least, change the frequency to Radiohead?