Coachella was a lot of fun. I crossed a bunch of bands off my bucket list that I never thought I'd be able to see live--Refused, Pulp, Justice, At The Drive-In, 2pac...okay, 2pac wasn't actually on my bucket list, but it was cool to kind of see him.
A major downside to the festival is you're pretty much guaranteed to get sick afterwards. I thought I could beat it by drinking a bunch of water and Emergen-C, avoiding booze, taking vitamins, getting at least six hours of sleep every night, and keeping hand sanitizer handy, but no. It probably has something to do with inhaling a bunch of second hand smoke and dirt, but my voice is almost completely gone. On the bright side, I don't feel as bad as I felt last year, so maybe my methods kind of worked, or maybe I'm just an aging hipster. The folks that attended the first weekend of the festival should be feeling the full burn of the dreaded Coachellaitis right about now. If you're going this weekend, you'll probably be feeling the same way in about a week. Being sick sucks, so grab a bowl of soup, relax on the couch, and listen to these ten songs.
The Hold Steady- Chill Out Tent It didn't take much effort to find Molly. She seemed to favor the Sahara Tent, though her friends could be spotted convulsing on the ground in the Gobi Tent. Maybe that was Coachella's answer to The Hold Steady's "the chill out tent." I'm not sure how helpful smoking cigarettes or kissing when nurses take off your IV would be, but oranges do sound nice right about now.
The Thermals- We Were Sick "Fed on the dirt, laid on the land. Never gave a day away, never gave a damn." Might as well make the most of the festival and recover later.
Neon Indian- Future Sick The less we have to think about getting sick, the better. Maybe that's why Neon Indian did not perform this song on Friday.
The Draft- Lo Zee Rose "Getting real sick of getting used to this, you know." This song is about being broke, though we can relate to spending way too much money at Coachella and getting sick later.
Against Me!- Scream Until You're Coughing Up Blood I didn't think it was possible to completely lose your voice until I saw Kid Dynamite. I was dealing with the same nasal cold crap and sang along in spite of my voice cracking, until it got to the point where I couldn't speak at all. Coughing up blood seems like it would be the next step.
The Damned- Sick of Being Sick "I'd better kick some ass, get out real fast." Ever since I had my first deep, barking cough at the festival, I was sick of being sick. At least now that I'm home, I can grab some cough drops and actually get some rest.
Young The Giant- Cough Syrup "And so I run to the things they said could restore me, restore life the way it should be. I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down." Young The Giant may use cough syrup to get high, but it can also be used to, you know, treat a cough. Menomena- Cough Coughing "My hand is only there to stop the cough, redirect your sneeze. The spittle leaves a smear I can't wash off." Gross. Cover your mouth so the guy from Menomena doesn't have to do it for you.
Harvey Danger- Flagpole Sitta "I'm not sick, but I'm not well." Coachellaitis is more inconvenient than anything. It's not so unbearable that you need to call in sick to work...but we won't fault you if you do it anyway.
The Smiths- Still Ill "But ask me why and I'll spit in your eye." Hopefully the weekend one folks won't still relate to this song in a week.
