Welcome back, readers. Unfortunately, I’ve been sick for the last few days and have had absolutely no energy to write anything. I feared this nagging cough and fever might stunt any kind of creativity necessary, but then it dawned on me… do a shortened version and find a song with the word ‘sick’ in its title! Lo and behold, only one awesome song came to mind. Welcome to Under Cover: Matthew Sweet “Sick Of Myself”.
Matthew Sweet (original, 1995)
You’re sick of not being with him/her, you’re sick of yourself for not being sick of him/her, and all this sickness becomes a self-loathing that turns your insides out… but in a good way.  Has anyone ever been so perfect that they’ve actually made you sick?  Well, you’re not alone since Matthew Sweet wrote the book on this one. “Sick Of Myself” is probably the prettiest song ever written about a love interest whose out-of-this-worldness reduces you to a nervous and stuttering little schoolboy. And that infectious chorus says it all: “Sick of myself when I look at you / Something is beautiful and true / In a world that’s ugly and a lie / It’s hard to even want to try / I’m beginning to think, baby you don’t know.” This is the stuff that power pop dreams are made of and it’s never sounded so good.
Bowling for Soup cover (2005)
Mommy, please make it stop! I should have known better than to research this Bowling For Soup cover but I blame the flu that has taken over my mental capabilities. This cover is just an example of songs that are better off left alone if you’re not going to bring something new to it or at least do it the justice it deserves. It’s a pop punk cover that’s really just a failure of the imagination. The lead vocals are stringy, irritating, and don’t have any of the same sweetness of the original. I just don’t get any genuine yearning or longing in this version and these are the very emotional states upon which “Sick Of Myself” was built. Hate to say it but… shame on you! Stick to bowling. And about that [chicken] soup… send some of that over here, will ya?
Death Cab For Cutie cover
Awww, this may be one of the cutest covers I’ve heard in a while! This acoustic rendition actually made me smile from behind this mountain of Kleenex. Death Cab For Cutie front man Ben Gibbard is almost the perfect agent for the same syrupy sweet vocal innocence as Matthew Sweet. In fact, it’s almost as if “Sick Of Myself” was meant to be covered by DCFC. They’re no strangers to putting out rock songs on the love tip that are beautiful, touching and almost always tug at the heartstrings. Aside from the gentle acoustic strumming that contrasts with the electric guitar interplay of the original, this version is slower paced, features soft background vocals, and Ben Gibbard enunciates his words even more than Sweet when he sings. All of this just drives the point home that this sickness just may be worth it.
