this sounds like whats happening during an approach that is sometimes used in therapeutic settings: where a patient or client is induced into recalling a memory with negative emotional content, and then guided into transforming that memory by introducing competing neutral or if possible positive interpretations. for this purpose the result isnt useless noise, but instead its useful because the patient or client then experiences less negative pattern matching in daily life. at least thats the idea.

I have that problem trying to recall some books that I've read. I used to read a lot, and so many of the books I read as a teen seem to have merged into bigger story threads.