Put It on Repeat. And Repeat. And Repeat.

"Mama was queen of the mambo/ Papa was king of the Congo/ Deep down in the jungle/ I started bangin' my first bongo."

I wish there was a feature on iTunes that puts a cap on the number of times you're allowed to listen to a song in a row. For instance, maybe after 34 times, it's time to change the song. It'd not only help curb your newest obsession with the song, but also help maintain your sanity and your friends' perceptions of you.

I might sort of (really) have a problem when it comes to getting obsessed with songs. Although I do the whole subconscious "I'm-too-indie-to-like-this" ordeal more often than I'd like to admit, once I like a song, that's it. I don't just like it-I become obsessed with it. And I don't just become obsessed with it. I kind of have to listen to it on repeat, and that can go on for days.

OK, I lied. It can go on for weeks.

Behold my latest obsession: Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong." My friend was introducing me to some of Manu Chao's music last night when I said I hadn't heard any ("You haven't? Blasphemy!") And the songs we ended up listening to were good, but nothing memorable, until we came across "Bongo Bong." And that's when I fell in love. It's a mix of reggae, alternative and world music all in one. And it's apparently about being the king of the bongo. What's not to love?

Plus, it's catchy as hell, which means that I've been listening to it on repeat all day, and probably will for at least two more days. Or at least as long as I can stand the phrase "Mama was queen of the mambo" repeating over and over in my head without feeling incredibly ridiculous as I try to absorb Smith, Locke and Rousseau for my midterm.

It could be worse; I could be obsessed with an astonishingly repetitive and annoying song from the '90s that makes you question who on earth let the artist come out with a song like that without first wondering about his sanity and artistic integrity.

Oops. Been there. Done that.

Things were pretty bad during the three-week span of my "Space Jam" obsession. Oh yes, it happened-this year. It wasn't entirely my fault though, because it played about seven times at the '90s party I was at that weekend. It just so happened that I ended up playing it probably about 17 more times that night on my iTunes.

When you get that deep into your song obsession, you start to lose any ounce of self-respect you once had, both as a pseudo-music critic and as a person, really. As you reach to unplug your earphones from your laptop and shamelessly let "Space Jam" blast on your computer, not caring that your roommate just looked at you and whispered to her friend on the phone about what you did, you know you've got a problem. Soon, it wasn't just my roommate who knew about my incredibly embarrassing "Space Jam" phase. All my friends knew, and they were worried. One particular friend asked to look at my iTunes when she came over.

"Aw, of course! I'll make you a mix if you want and I can put in a bunch of new songs by TV on the Radio!"

It turns out she had just been checking the latest "play count" of "Space Jam". It was at 64 and had now entered the "Top 25 Most Played" category. And that wasn't even counting how many times I had played it on my iPod. I wish I were lying.

"Des, we need to talk," my friend said, eyeing the computer screen and then me.

"I swear I'll stop!" I pleaded. "Just a few more times!"

"That's what they all say, Desiree," my friend replied, solemnly shaking her head. "That's what they all say."

I don't deny that I have a problem, but I'm pretty sure most people go through the same song-obsession phases that I do. Albeit, it's probably not as pronounced (or public) as mine is, but we all have our quirky obsessive phases. I just happen to have one that involves openly and embarrassingly bursting into lyrics like, "Cause nobody go crazy when I'm bangin' on my boogie" in front of friends and scaring the shit out of my roommate.

Uh oh. I was just googling "Bongo Bong" and discovered that Lily Allen and Robbie Williams made a mash-up of "Bongo Bong" and one of Manu Chao's other songs. And it's kind of amazing. And by "kind of amazing," I mean I just bought the song and clicked the "repeat" feature on iTunes.

This can only be bad.

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