Album: Fountains of Wayne
Year: 1996
In retrospect, it makes sense that a band that named themselves after a local retail store would end up penning some of the best songs ever written about an underserved rock ‘n’ roll subject: the 9-to-5 white collar workplace.
After all, part of the ethos of pop music is not having to work a day job, and that ethos — fantasy, really — fuels song after song about a life where you aren’t expected to be at a desk or a counter five days a week.
And nowhere did they get at that better than the character study from their self-titled debut, “Sick Day,” where over a languid bed of acoustic guitars, Adam Schlesinger & Chris Collingwood sing:
And she’s making the scene
With the coffee and cream
And the copy machine’s not working
She’s a hell of a girl
She’s alone in the world
And she likes to say “hey good lookin'”
She’s on her way
She’s taking a sick day
Soooooooon
The beauty of “Sick Day” is the anticipation of a simple not-quite-sanctioned day off, as signified how Collingwood sings “sooooooooooon.”
I mean, why shouldn’t she take a sick day, especially since in a lot of companies, they don’t even roll over into the next year, so if you’re a relatively healthy person, that’s time off that you’re leaving on the table.
“Sick Day” performed live in Chicago in 2009
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