When I spent time in the broadcast booth at various college radio stations, one of the finest gifts that came with it was the chance to flip through the ever-changing batch of new music that sat on the shelf. It was a constant exploration process, supplemented by trade journals, record company suggestions, and other media resources, but it was primarily driven by simply going through the albums, scrutinizing their song titles and sampling tracks until gold was struck.

I always took a certain amount of pride when I found my way to some tremendous song on my own, but my fonder memories are those instances when a friend at the station pushed me in the right direction. “Yeah, that song is good, but the best song on the record is actually this one,” they might say, completely transforming my view of an album, or even a whole band.

When the debut album from the U.K. group the Magic Numbers landed at the Florida college radio station where I served as the advisor to the students — while also getting in a fair amount of airtime, given the culture of this particular broadcast outlet and the preferences of those students — I gravitated to the the couple of the more boisterous pop songs on the record, which had been fairly successful singles in their homeland. I was pretty satisfied, too. And then, as the above set-up implies, I discussed the band’s music with a friend at the station. While conceding those songs were solid, she noted that the true standout was the ballad “This Love.” Of course, she was correct.

In this simple story sits one of the aspects of music fandom I value most. While much of my listening has been done in isolation, just me and the records (and maybe a bottle or two of something, depending on the night), the songs are also a conduit to others who take the same rejuvenation from the perfect mix of words and tones, rhythm and melody, giddy invention and great pop hook. Music is for sharing.

Listen or download –> The Magic Numbers, “This Love”

(Disclaimer: It appears to me, on an admittedly very cursory bit of research, that the self-titled debt from the Magic Numbers is out of print, at least as a physical object that can be acquired at your favorite local, independently-owned record store in a manner that compensates both the original artist and the proprietor of said shop. The music file is shared in this space at this time in this way with the understanding that doing so impedes no fair and proper commerce. That noted, I do know the rules. I will gladly and promptly remove this track from my little corner of the digital world if asked to do so by any individual or entity with due authority to make such a request.)