Covid 19/Media-induced Panic Jams

“The Black Plague during an election”?I don’t put much stock in conspiracies, so as one who has “lived through” the bird flu, swine flu, zika, and ebola pandemonium, I just have a “this too shall pass” mentality towards this novel coronavirus.

I also recognize the media can be biased, instigating, and trigger-happy and thus only fanning metaphorical wildfires over existing concerns and reactions. Taking every precaution to avoid the virus spread is one thing; emptying the store shelves of toilet paper in preparation for living a Fallout video game scenario is another thing entirely. ..

On the flip side, the social media poking fun at the hype is getting unavoidable (but not unwelcome). Over the last few days, my Facebook news feed has proffered several memes, jokes, posts or references about hand-washing, the stockpiling, funny ways you’ll be immune to the virus, or protecting Betty White or somebody. (If Keith Richards goes, we all go though!)

Yet I found through Twitter a COVID-19 Quarantine Playlist on Spotify, which I see as new territory for internet humor. The user claimed he took suggestions for it, and I hope he does include some of my requests. But I couldn’t stop thinking about songs to fit such a theme so I created one of my own! Its titled Covid 19/Media-induced Panic Jams and hopefully you can find it by that name (or my name) when searching on Spotify if you’re interested. It’s thirty-five dominantly pop and rock songs and runs nearly two and a half hours. I’ve subdivided the playlist to embrace the illness'physical aspects and its world-ending mentality (and an honorable mention I’ll explain later).

Songs for the Signs, Symptoms, and Well-being

1.Unwell-Matchbox Twenty

2.Don’t Stand So Close to Me- The Police

3.Stayin’ Alive- Bee Gees

4.Harder to Breathe- Maroon Five

5.Man on Fire- Roger Taylor Queen’s drummer

6.Closing Time- Semisonic Because things are closing, canceling, or postponing

7.Barely Breathing- Duncan Sheik

8.Bad Medicine- Bon Jovi

9.Calling Dr. Love- KISS

10.Keep Your Hands to Yourself- The Georgia Satellites

11.Alive- Pearl Jam

12.Meant to Live- Switchfoot

13.Too Close- Alex Clare

14. Lovin’, Touchin’ Squeezin’- Journey

Crisis Mode - Somewhat Satirical Statements on Some States of Mind Right Now

15. Keep Yourself Alive- Queen

16. It’s The End of the World As We Know It- R.E.M.

17.Calling All Angels- Train If Calling Dr. Love wasn’t enough. Lol

18. Basket Case- Green Day explicative warning

19. Another One Bites the Dust- Queen

20. Close to the Borderline- Billy Joel

21. Miami 2017 (I’ve Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)- Billy Joel A song about a fictitious apocalypse on a playlist article razzing apocalyptic-like mania: the deeper contextual irony was not intended at first! This is just a good “disaster song” IMO.

22. Mad World- Tears for Fears

23. See You on the Other Side- Ozzy Osbourne

24. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult

25. Out of My Head- Fastball

26.How to Save a Life- The Fray

27. School’s Out- Alice Cooper

28. Favorite Disease- Thousand Foot Krutch

29. Hold Your Head Up- Argent Persevere! Positive Vibes!

30. Honesty- Billy Joel Again, note the media

31. Hysteria- Def Leppard

32. Dangerous- Def Leppard

33. Paranoid -Jonas Brothers

34 Danger Zone- Kenny Loggins

Honorable Mention

35.Come On Eileen- Dexys Midnight Runners

Somewhere in the rising action of this epidemic, a Twitter user said this: every time I see COVID-19 written out I read it to the tune of “Come On Eileen”. If I have to bear this burden, so do all of you.