When I was a college radio kid, heading off to New York City for the annual CMJ Music Marathon was a pure pipe dream. We simply didn’t have the sort of money for that sort of thing, and our different advisors and on-campus advocates decided, probably accurately, that it was a bit of a boondoggle, not worth fighting for. When dryer, more professionally respectable student-oriented broadcasting conferences cropped up more regionally conducive locations, they made university funding available to us. Again, they were probably correct to do so. Considering the sort of shenanigans we got up to in our posh Chicago hotel, it’s probably better for all involved that we weren’t given relatively free rein in New York City.

When I eventually become an advisor to college radio kids, it was a thoroughly well-established part of the organization’s culture that institutional resources were devoted to getting them up to the Music Marathon. I could have gone, too–that was made clear to me–but by then I was old enough that appeal of such a thing was largely gone. Why would I want to prowl around in the big city, wedging myself uncomfortably into cramped spaces for exhausting showcases of bands. It was far, far better to get smidgens of vicarious experience through the students I worked with. I didn’t need to sort through dozens of mediocrities for the pleasure of discovering the one great new artist. They did the work. I pilfered from their accomplishments.

After the students returned from one of those northward treks, there was one name that came up more than any other: Ted Leo. Along with his backing band, the Pharmacists, Leo had released his third album, Hearts of Oak, that year, although it had gotten only the most marginal amount of attention on our sliver of the FM dial. Following the Music Marathon excursion, the album was excitedly revived by various students, and Leo’s music begin making its way into my personal bundle of favored material. It was actually his next album that made me a full convert, but the peaks of Hearts of Oak are invigorating. If musical questions need be asked, its hard to do better than the one posed in the record’s first single. And I amassed no frequent flier miles to find it.

Listen or download –> Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?”

(Disclaimer: As best as I can tell, Hearts of Oak is currently out of print. I guess it’s possible that, as one of Leo’s better-known songs, it has made its way onto some other official release that can be purchased from a local, independently-owned record store, providing due compensation to both the artist and the proprietor of said store. It does appear that the fantastic Shake the Sheets is available for CD purchase directly from the artist himself. It is a fine investment, highly recommended. My main point is that the above track is shared her with the belief that doing so does not unfairly impede legitimate and honorable music business commerce from taking place. Even still, if I’m contacted by any individual or entity with due authority to request its removed from my corner of the interweb, and that individual or entity is requesting exactly that, I will promptly and gladly comply.)