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The other day I was running and I swore that a bug flew into my ear. It must have squeezed under my headphone somehow and gotten trapped in there. I stopped, plucked the earbud out and plumbed my aural canal with a pinkie. Once I was sure it was gone, I plugged back in and went on my merry way. Sure enough, the buzzing sound started again. This time I turned down my music and the insect noise went away with it. I realized that the song I was listening to had a sound effect that resembled the noise a mosquito makes when it barnstorms your ears. This made me remember all the times I’ve jumped or slammed on the breaks during a run because of a sound effect in a song. In honor of Halloween, I give you my Top 5:

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1. Gunshots (Paper Planes, Made You Look)
You don’t have to be in some shady neighborhood to duck and cover when you hear unexpected gunshots. For some reason it’s more ingrained in my head than Stop, Drop and Roll.

2. Dogs Barking (Sure Shot)
“You can’t, you won’t, and you don’t stop!” are the lyrics, but have you ever had a dog come after you during a run?

3. Screams (The Becoming, Love Rollercoaster)
Sometimes I run in a park near my house in the evenings. This time of year it gets dark earlier, giving the area a creepy feeling. When a song comes on with a woman shrieking, I immediately scan my surroundings (old playground, overgrown bushes) and wish I’d brought a can of mace.

4. Sirens (Quiet Dog, Song to the Siren)
“Quiet Dog” is a PowerSong with a siren that catches you completely off guard near the end. The mix has it buried just enough to make you feel like the fuzz is right on your tail.

5. Cars revving/tires screeching/horns (Officer, I Love You, Girls, Girls, Girls)
The bombastic “Officer” actually has sirens and screeching tires, but the song’s so good for running that you just have to get used to it. “Girls, Girls, Girls” has the added bonus of a Harley revving and some horny dude wolf-whistling to make you nervous.

What other sounds in songs have scared you on a run?

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