Touch Me, I’m Sick

I’ve been more or less waylaid the past couple of weeks by something that appears to be Fifth Disease (waiting on test results to confirm). It’s not as bad as the name suggests, but I still can’t recommend it as a vacation destination unless general lethargy and painful swelling in the hands, feet and joints are your idea of a pulp novel and pina colada. The most serious side effects have been musical, as it has sapped my enthusiasm for posting much around here, and it kept me from making the trek to Lawrence, Kansas last Wednesday to catch my first in-person glimpse of Jesse Malin. Not only that, but Sonny Landreth played a free show in my tiny suburban community (Parkville, Missouri, pop. 4079) on Saturday night, and I couldn’t even muster the energy to go.

I appear to be on the mend now, thanks, but I thought I ought to milk it a little more (my wife scoffs at my insistence that I have a “disease,” but, hey, I didn’t name it). And so I got to thinking about music and illness and have concluded that Magic and Loss, Lou Reed’s sublime, underrated rumination on the ravages of cancer stands atop the heap. But I’m more interested in compiling a list of tunes appropriate for a few days of bed rest. In my condition (oooh, I’m so weak), this is the best I could do. Please offer better choices in the comments.

1. “Touch Me, I’m Sick” – Mudhoney
2. “You Be Illin’” – Run-D.M.C.
3. “Catch My Disease” – Ben Lee
4. “Take Me Down to the Infirmary” – Cracker
5. “Take Me Down to the Hospital” – The Replacements
6. “Fever” – Little Willie John/Peggy Lee
7. “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” – Van Halen
8. “Sick Again” – Led Zeppelin
9. “Cold Sweat” – James Brown
10. “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” – Huey “Piano” Smith/Johnny Rivers