The Sick Soundtrack

By Broadside Style Columnist Andy Minor

For about the past six days I've been fighting yet another cold. This is my second cold in about six or so weeks, following up on a mini-cold last weekend, which turned out to be a hangover. The close proximity of both illnesses, however, didn't really give me enough time to adjust to the healthy life.

I was still relishing the fact that I could speak easily, breathe through my nose and sleep for more than three hours at a time. And since I hadn't completely adjusted to normal, adult health, I felt somewhat shortchanged by this second onslaught.

Why did I, a humble columnist and college student, deserve such a horrible plague overtaking my body?

This question led to increased bitterness as I, with my sinuses clogged and my throat raw, watched commercial after commercial for NyQuil, DayQuil, Sudafed, Alka-Seltzer, and the scores of other cold medicines that, when you take them, seem to cure you fully in less than 20 minutes.

I was taking all these substances and I still felt like a mucus-filled ball of death.

Being excessively cold-prone in 2009 doesn't merit much more whining, but at the heart of all my senseless complaining is a realization I had when my throat began to betray its owner a few days ago.

I've spoken before about my propensity for singing along whether in the car, in the shower or whenever it seems to annoy other people around me. There is a magical feeling associated with singing along, one that connects you further with the artist and gives you a chance to really internalize the art.

Like memorizing a poem or quote from a film, memorizing song lyrics which accompany a tune helps your brain develop in a new way. Those of us lucky enough to call ourselves musicians believe highly in music's powers, and the easiest way for a non-musician to tap into these powers is to simply sing along.

When I am sick, though, my voice is often the first thing to go and the last thing to come back. And while my larynx did not suffer as much during this cold as it did during my previous one, I still found myself unable to sing along to my favorite tunes while I was driving to and from school.

So, I did what most of you readers may think I never do: I listened to NPR. Seems a bit senior-citizen-esque, but it actually felt rather nice to not be actively involved in what I listened to.

All I had to do was sit back and drive while I learned about the group of underground computer nerds who pine for their 1986 IBM M-20 keyboards.

I got to perk my ears up as tales of the auto-industry crisis seem to be condemning my beloved Chrysler Corporation to a slow, dismal, American-car style death.

I learned about foreign concerns, domestic concerns, economic concerns, military concerns; the concerns were endless, the knowledge was flowing. Through it all I felt so well-informed that I wanted to boast it in the most pedantic way possible.

I managed to curb my pretentiousness with the help of NPR itself, oddly enough. You NPR veterans know that in between the tidbits of information you often hear a few seconds of a song to provide a smooth transition between stories.

These little snippets are often incredible, I've discovered, and if one goes to the NPR website there they are, titles and all, ready for discovery.

I heard an awful lot of Ratatat one afternoon while listening to Morning Edition one day, then on the way home from class I heard some sweet jazz from The Bad Plus and the nice post-rock stylings of Six Parts Seven, all a part of the All Things Considered broadcast.

Albeit these were nothing but fifteen to twenty second clips of single songs by these artists, but they still reminded me of their existence and sent me trolling through my iTunes list when I got home to treat my ears once more.

So maybe the next time you suffer from musical indecisiveness, or perhaps the next time you're sick and couldn't sing a note if you had to, try tuning it to ol’ 88.5 FM.

You'll find yourself a well-informed individual, at least for the time being, and on top of that you'll also find a keen avenue for musical discovery that you've probably overlooked in the past.

Just be smart and don't try and write down lyrics to the songs you hear while you're driving—that could get ugly.