Welp, the T-Peezy era at tOSU has come to a close. I must confess a bit of sympathy for the guy, idiot though he may be, particularly given the Herbstreit-esque shellacking he’s been taking from “buckeye nation” over the last few weeks—here’s a clue, a better target for your vitriol might be the fifty eight year old who was pulling in 3.5 a year to make sure his team admirably represented their university .  Anyhoo, with Tressel and Pryor officially dunzo, and besieged UTenn AD Mike Hamilton calling it quits in perhaps a precedent-setting news conference this afternoon, all eyes now turn to Gene Smith, the last (???) major cog in Tat-Gate 2011. But onto the music—few tracks resonate with the rise and fall of Jeannette*, PA’s once-favored son better than lead-Beat Dave Wakeling’s ode to self-indulgent crocodile tears, “I Confess.” For those unfamiliar, the Beat are probably the biggest name to emerge from the late-70s/early-80s ska revival (yeah, the MMBt/CPD/RBF crowd were actually part of a re-revival) and definitely worth checking out. Key tracks: “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Twist & Crawl,” “Save it for Later,” and “Too Nice to Talk to,” though the deeper cuts tend to be equally terrific….

*Coincidentally, the city shares its name with the third single off Special Beat Service, the Beat’s third studio album.