What is that bit of incidental/background music from a video game that just randomly pops into your head all the time?

I don't mean humming the main theme from your Zeldas, your Halos, your Metal Gear Solids. I mean some random piece of background music, shop music, menu music, etc., that isn't a featured part of the game's score, but nonetheless sticks with you.

For me as of late, with no warning, I've been getting the song from Tee K.O. from Jackbox Party Pack 3 stuck in my head. It's a pretty rad jam!

So what gets stuck in your head?

Elevator music from Metroid Prime.

Save music from Ico.

Save music from REmake

The classic.

Mine is super random and I don't know why it's been stuck in the back of my head for this long. Plus, it's from a game I don't particularly care for but it's the dungeon music from the .hack games.

.hack//Infection (2002) specifically.

The only good thing about that pos...

@kylenalepa: TURN THAT SHIT UUUUUUUUUUP

I want to say the Guile or Ken theme music, but it doesn't happen often enough lol.

With Winter vastly approaching around these parts. I'm sure this one will pop into my head a few times. It usually happens when I'm walking or driving through a snowy, dark night. My mind only thinks of the first 40 seconds and puts a bit of remix on it... and then on and on it goes.

Oh, easy! The Hotline Miami level results music.

And the save music from ICO, absolutely. It's my Skype ringtone.

Safe/save room music from RE2. Save music from RE4 and 7 too.

Skyrim has a lot of fantastic ambient music

Every time I see anything related to Mario I hum the "level complete" jingle from Mario World, including (especially) the sound when it irises out.

The drums from the main theme of Halo

(not the whole theme, just specifically the underlying drum line from the game)

And some of the ambient music from Deus Ex And Deus Ex Human Revolution

The multiplayer lobby music from Black Ops 1.

I don't think of it all that often, but when I do, it tends to haunt me for hours.

The muzak in Dead Rising I suppose. I was going to post a video, but I think you know what I'm talking about and you can probably find it on YouTube. There's probably more than a handful, but I think this best fits what you're asking and it's the first to come to my mind as I read your words.

Edit - Eh, found it.

@kylenalepa: Whenever something has anything less than my full undivided attention, I feel this is playfully bouncing around in the back of my head

This random incidental track from Animal Crossing has firmly nestled itself in my subconscious mind, ever since the time of the GameCube. Don't know why it immortalized itself so much more successfully than any other track, but it did.

https://youtu.be/PsgZS3WtArM

EDIT: can't seem to embed this video link on my mobile device. Oh well!

I think I and my fragile psyche have cursed myself to never forget the leitmotif from Journey.

Every time. Honorable mention goes to RE1 Save Room and RE3 Save Room.

Lately it's been the Uncharted theme, but I think this 10th anniversary PS4 theme is to blame for that.

This thing's come into my head at the most random times though, and probably the most often over time. It's typically just the first minute, but sometimes the chorus tags along as well.

"Heal" by Pentagon for the ICO soundtrack

This song plays when you rest on the benches where you can save. It's a short soothing melody that will loop for however long you choose to wait.

Edit: Since this was mentioned by @brunothethird (I only looked at the links and embeds while skimming the words when I replied, my bad) I'm going to add another, potentially better example.

The XMB Title Song for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Not only is it only available in the PS3 XMB menu (before you start-up the game), but it also isn't featured on the soundtrack despite it being the most stunning song in the game. This song is breathtaking (and hertwrenchingly short), yet I expect many of those who finished the game never even heard it.

Any variation of the main theme from The Elder Scrolls Series, mainly 3,4,5. I just love humming certain parts!

This fucken thing. Nobuo Uematsu is a genius but I do have my limits.

Mine is super obscure, ever since the first time I’ve played it way back in 1998 I have always loved the very first mini dungeon in Xenogears where you go up the hill to the Drs. House. It’s all ambient sounds with birds chirping and whenever I’m outside and hear a bird I automatically think about that part.

It’s weird, I know but I love it.

This year is has largely been "beneath the mask" from Persona 5. Turns out that hearing something for probably 50h makes it stick on your head for the immediate future.

But I have a good bit of music that I'll randomly hum on. It'll usually be something I played at least semi recently, but if I'm in a gaming dry spell it's probably old zelda music or something. Song of Storms has way of creeping back up on me at the oddest of times.

After all these years I can still hear it.

I'm not hearing this all the time, unfortunately, but this would still probably be the one that 'plays' most often.

It's not exactly from one videogame, but more from two videogames at once. Every month, this thing pops into my head:

Sometimes these two as well:

The crazy thin is that I never owned a Wii and only played Mario World once or twice almost 10 years after it came out. So all of this is mostly Giant Bomb's fault.

Persona 5's Beneath the Mask as @tobbrobb said. Didn't really like the song at first and it grew on me and I'll probably hate it again by the time I'm done. Something about the way she sings "shapeshifter"...

Edit: I forgot about the Lake Lamode music from Mario Odyssey, so tranquil.

This has been bothering me for a while now.

@citizencoffeecake: I'M A SHAPESHIFTUUUURRR

It's been the Nintendo Land Title Screen for me for some reason this week.

I have music stuck in my head basically 24/7, and it's video game music a pretty decent chunk of that time! So I have a lot of songs. Let's start with the ones that pop up regardless if I've played the game recently or not:

Quite literally anysongfromFinalFantasyTactics.

Most of the vocaltracks from Persona 4, as well as the song Alone.

Quite a few of the songs from the KatawaShoujoOST.

The stuff that's been in my head from games I've played more recently would be Beneath the Mask from Persona 5 and the Pokémon Center Theme from Omega Ruby/ Alpha Sapphire.

In Front Mission 3 there's this little chime that plays on the map screen, when you're moving between locations. I haven't played that game in years but every time I use Google Maps to plan a trip I hear that chime.

I get the theremin from DOOM '16's "BFG Division" in my head a lot.

Just so, so good. I mean, the whole track is insane, but that bit in particular is really catchy.

fable 1's summer fields, and I don't even like that bloody game or that song. why did i force myself to beat it when i was younger...

I was such a Pokemon kid, 1st gen music still play in my head regularly. Nothing else will ever touch these.

Since Sonic Mania came out this has been jammed in my brain.

I know people in general hate escort missions, but I really loved them in Wing Commander 1, and the music during those missions may have been a big reason for that. It pops up in my head a few times every week:

(FM Towns version)

(MT-32 version)

@mems1224:

Came in here to post this, glad it was accounted for.

seconding "Miami" from Hotline and:

Helllllllllllll yeah Mick Gordon.

Persona Velvet room theme

Street fighters Guile theme

Bits and pieces of Castlevania

Ragnarok Online Amatsu theme

Skyrim main them, specifically the Skyrim one not Oblivion nor Morrowind, but I guess that's too mainstream...

Zelda Theme and Mantis Theme from MGS1

Burning Man's theme

This one from SM2

This one used to.

On some level

FORWARD AND BACK AND THEN FORWARD AND BACK AND THEN GO FORWARD AND BACK (This fucking song got stuck in my head for months when it came out.)

The song that made me fall in love with Emi Evans and Keiichi Okabe, my god what a perfect song, I remember just leaving this song running in the game while I did other things around the house. I still hum it from time to time.

@redhotchilimist: Yup! I've never played this game and it's stuck in my head all the time. Really catchy song.

Gonna add Stickerbush Symphony to the list. I have never played a Donkey Kong game in my life.

It was hard to think of one I don't just listen to but I think this counts