“Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

"Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" was the single Ted Leo & the Pharmacists sent out from Hearts of Oak, their 2003 album on Lookout! Records, and it's a fan's lament for a scene whose best days were long gone. Leo wrote it pining for ska's glory days and the rude boys who were its most devoted followers, and he packs it with nods to the Specials, the Selecter, the Beat and the rest of the Two-tone crowd.

MTV gave the video some airtime, and the clip takes its cue from Carnival of Souls, the 1962 horror film, a fitting choice for a song this haunted by the past. Pitchfork fell hard for it: 18th on its list of the best singles of 2003, then 124th when it ranked the 200 best songs of the decade, with a spot in the Pitchfork 500 as well.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.