Surgeons race against time to remove the smash single "One Week" from Daniel Hudson's head.

Surgeons remove Barenaked Ladies song from area man's head

According to doctors, the song - "One Week," from Barenaked Ladies' breakthrough fifth album, Stunt - became lodged in the 32-year-old's head after his daughter repeatedly played and sang along with the wildly addictive tune in her bedroom last Saturday afternoon.

"That very evening I started hearing pieces of ["One Week"] in my head," said Hudson. "I knew that getting that stupid song [stuck] in my head was going to be a problem, but I figured it would just go away eventually," said Hudson, who remains in stable condition following the song's removal. "In actuality, it just kept getting worse and worse."

Hudson said that although he remained able to concentrate adequately during important situations, periods spent performing monotonous tasks such as driving, painting or showering became mentally dominated by the smash single's catchy melodies and quirky lyrics.

"Certain sections of the song would just keep cycling over and over in my head," explained Hudson, who does not own any Barenaked Ladies CDs or other merchandise. "For example, that line in the verse that goes, 'Chickity China the Chinese chicken / You have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin' - I'd just keep repeating it [mentally] for no reason. Then I'd even find myself breaking down the lyrics and actually trying to analyze them. That's just plain unhealthy, as far as I'm concerned."

Unable to overcome the continuous mental replaying of the song that captivated mainstream audiences and reached number one on the Billboard singles chart during the summer of 1998, Hudson eventually told his wife about his condition only after it had reached a near-critical level of severity.

"Thursday night, when Daniel finally broke down and told me he had that song stuck in his head, I knew he must be going through an amazing amount of agony," said Hudson's wife, Maurine. "All week long, out of nowhere he'd been blurting out just that one part, 'It's been,' mimicking that trademark voice. And then that would be it. I should've asked him right then and there what was up with that. If I could've gotten him to tell me what was wrong with him, I would've demanded we get him help immediately."

One expert, however, confirmed that even those closest to Hudson would have had trouble diagnosing his condition with any degree of certainty.

Dr. Howard Wolfen examines a tortured Hudson before surgery.

Wolfen also claimed that victims are not always willing to disclose their situation.

"They're usually too embarrassed to admit what song is stuck in their head," said Wolfen. "I once had a patient who went almost six months before seeking help because he was so embarrassed. He had the Righteous Brothers classic, 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' stuck in his head."

Sources close to Hudson confirm that previous to his contracting the devastating mental ailment, Hudson had enjoyed a very healthy audio environment. Among his most prized possessions is a substantial CD and vinyl collection which contains such critically acclaimed titles as Radiohead's Kid A, Wilco's Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and Tool's Undertow.

June 2002