It might not work in this specific case, but Richard Thompson has some interesting ideas on exercising a musical part of your mind.
If I find myself in unpromising musical situations - on a long flight, in the dentist's waiting room - I try to make the best of whatever soundtrack is playing by picking apart the arrangement or the score. If it's bad lounge or muzak, I might try to guess the instrumentation - how many strings, how many French horns, etc. - and if it's classical but dull, establish the key and then follow the changes in tone centre, and the tricks to get back to the keynote.
