Touch Me I'm Sick

"Touch Me I'm Sick" is a song by the American alternative rock band Mudhoney. It was recorded in March 1988 at Seattle's Reciprocal Recording studio with producer Jack Endino. "Touch Me I'm Sick" was released as Mudhoney's debut single by independent record label Sub Pop on August 1, 1988. The song's lyrics, which feature dark humor, are a sarcastic take on issues such as disease and violent sex.

When it was first released, "Touch Me I'm Sick" was a hit on the indie circuit, and is still the band's most recognizable song. The heavily distorted and fuzzy guitars, snarling vocals, blunt bass line and energetic drumming contributed to a dirty sound that influenced many local musicians, and helped develop the nascent Seattle grunge scene. According to Allmusic, "the song's raw, primal energy made it an instant anthem which still stands as one of [grunge's] all-time classics".

Origins and recording

According to Mudhoney vocalist Mark Arm, "Touch Me I'm Sick" originated from a discussion with Sub Pop owner Bruce Pavitt, who "said: 'Hey, you sing about dogs. You sing about being sick. You got a shtick, it'll take you to the top.' And he basically gave us five chords, but he said don't use more than three within one song." Arm also states that "Touch Me I'm Sick" was a catchphrase around which the band built a song.

Touch Me I'm Sick/Halloween

"Touch Me I'm Sick/Halloween" is a split single by American alternative rock bands Sonic Youth and Mudhoney, released in December 1988 by the independent record label Sub Pop.

Prior to the release of Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick" single in March 1988, Bruce Pavitt sent a five-song Mudhoney tape to Sonic Youth for the band's opinion. Sonic Youth immediately proposed a split single where each band covered the other. Sonic Youth covered "Touch Me I'm Sick", while Mudhoney covered Sonic Youth's "Halloween". The split single was released on 7" vinyl as a limited edition by Sub Pop in December 1988. It was released on 12" vinyl in the UK by Blast First in January 1989, and in Germany in 1990 by Glitterhouse Records.

Sonic Youth's "Touch Me I'm Sick" cover was later included on the deluxe edition of Daydream Nation, released on June 12, 2007, while Mudhoney's cover of "Halloween" was featured in the 2008 deluxe edition reissue of Superfuzz Bigmuff. The front and back cover photographs were taken by Charles Peterson.