106: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (2003)

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"It's about trying to rationalize life as an artist. ... Trying to find a place in the world where you can effectively respond to things, trying to justify writing a song, and finding it hard to do that."

—Ted Leo

For over twenty years, Ted Leo has been one of the most intelligent and consistent songwriters of the indie rock world.  In this episode, Dan, Rich, and guest rude-boy James Boo discuss the 2003 album Hearts of Oak, which showcases Leo’s talent for crafting thoughtful, politically-charged lyrics and channeling them into immediately catchy anthems. Whether it’s navigating the confusing climate of a post-9/11 America or simply ruminating on the power of ska, Ted serves it up in a poignant, ear-catching package. 

Miscellany

• James Boo is the Managing Producer of the podcast Self Evident, which focuses on Asian American stories and perspectives that get left out of the popular discourse. The episode “Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” featuring Mike Park of Asian Man Records, touches on subjects like the history of ska and two-tone music, both of which Ted Leo pays tribute to on Hearts of Oak.

• The names listed in the bridge of “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” are Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall, and Lynvall Golding of the Specials, as well as Rhoda Dakar from the Bodysnatchers, one of the first bands signed to the 2-Tone label.

• We did a lot of gushing over Ted Leo’s live performances with only a couple live clips to show for it, because he’s not an artist like Phish or Pearl Jam with an online infrastructure dedicated to selling high-quality soundboard live recordings. There are some performances on YouTube with decent sound quality, including this 2004 Baltimore concert, but to get the full experience, you’ll have to catch him the next time he tours in your region. 

• A great Ted Leo cover we didn’t get the chance to play is his version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” Ted mashes up the song with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song “Maps,” which was actually producer Max Martin’s original inspiration for the Kelly Clarkson song.

• Dan mentioned Ted Leo collaborating with comedian Tom Scharpling, and Scharpling actually directed the music video for “Bottled in Cork” from 2010’s The Brutalist Bricks.

• The introductory clip comes from Ted Leo’s appearance with Aimee Mann on the online sketch comedy series Sound Advice, featuring Vanessa Bayer of Saturday Night Live. 

Other links

• Ted Leo's official website (tedleo.com)

• Ted Leo’s Bandcamp store (Bandcamp.com)

• In Defense of Ska interviews Ted Leo (Buzzsprout.com)

• Past, Present, Future, Live interviews Ted Leo (Osiris)

• The Art of Process podcast (Maximum Fun)

• Too-Rye-Ay performs “Come on Eileen” (YouTube)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Hearts of Oak playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• Dan Watkins (host)

• Rich Bunnell (moderator)

• James Boo (special guest) 

Hearts of Oak tracklist 

1. Building Skyscrapers in the Basement

2. Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?

3. I’m a Ghost

4. The High Party

5. Hearts of Oak

6. Ballad of the Sin Eater

7. Dead Voices

8. The Anointed One

9. Bridges, Squares

10. Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead

11. 2nd Ave., 11AM

12. First to Finish, Last to Start

13. The Crane Takes Flight 

Other clips used 

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists:

• Parallel or Together

• Parallel or Together (live 6/20/09, Providence, RI)

• Timorous Me

• Me and Mia

• Walking Through

• Treble in Trouble

• Ghosts

• Six Months in a Leaky Boat

• Hearts of Oak (live 3/13/04, Baltimore, MD)

• Everybody Wants to Rule the World

• St. John the Divine

• Little Dawn

• Used to Believe (solo Ted Leo)

• Bottled in Cork 

Others:

• Chisel - All My Kin

• Too-Rye-Ay - Come On Eileen

• The Specials - Ghost Town

• The Specials - A Message to You, Rudy

• Bad Religion - Modern Man

• Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back in Town

• Toby Keith - Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

• Krzysztof Penderecki - Symphony No. 1: I. Arche - Dynamis I

• Cheap Trick - In the Street

• Game Theory - We Love You, Carol and Allison

• The Dismemberment Plan - The City

• Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Time Is Tight

• James Ingram - Yah Mo B There

• The Impressions - People Get Ready

• The Both - Milwaukee

Band/album personnel

• Ted Leo – guitar, organ, melodica, percussion, whistle, clapping, lead vocals

• Dorien Garry – electric piano, organ, background vocals

• David Lerner – bass

• Chris Wilson – drums

• Danny Leo – drums

• Ida Pearle – violin, whistle, clapping

• Jodi Buonanno – clapping, whistle, background vocals

• Chris Leo – clapping, whistle, background vocals

• Tiffany Anders – background vocals

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - 2nd Ave, 11AM (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Hearts of Oak and other albums by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at tedleo.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.