"It's the numbered head, and it's too close!"

Illustration by Maginal Wright Enright from Twinkle and Chubbins: Their Astonishing Adventures in Nature-Fairyland by L. Frank Baum, 1911

Reading the tracklist to SCORE!: The Covers, the recent Merge Records covers collection, one selection struck me as odd. Why would Ted Leo and the Pharmacists be covering "The Numbered Head" by Robert Pollard? Most people wouldn't think much of the choice, but there's some history there. Back when Pollard was with Guided by Voices, they played a show with Ted Leo. It was a festival or one-off of some kind - at a college, maybe? The details are shrouded in the mists of time, but the point is that Leo was upset with Guided by Voices over some issue. I think he was angry that their set had run long and cut into his band's time. The situation quickly devolved into a brawl and, based on the assuredly unbiased retellings of GBV fans who heard about it from a friend of a friend, Leo and his guys got their asses kicked. The one detail from the fight that has risen to quasi-legendary status is that GBV guitarist Nate Farley give one dude a "heater" - a punch in the face with a lit cigarette between the knuckles. Today is also Nate Farley's birthday so, "Happy Birthday, Nate and stay classy!"

I like to think that this is Ted Leo's way of burying the hatchet. What better way to say "no hard feelings" to a musician than doing a carefully crafted cover of one of their songs? Leo's version lacks a little of the edge the original version had on Pollard's From a Compound Eye, but it's obvious that Leo likes the song a lot. Pulsing prog-rock is not really his bailiwick - he's more of a pop-punk guy - but he embellishes the song nicely with some spacey effects and layered harmonies. Leo even goes the extra mile in showing his admiration by throwing in some shout-outs to other Pollard rarities during the song's "freak-out" section, yelling random lines from "Give Up the Grape" and "He's the Uncle". I enjoy a good cover, and this one's a little bit more fun because it has helped ease the "Why are mommy and daddy fighting?" dissonance that I've had as a fan of GBV and Ted Leo.

"The Numbered Head" by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists