I just spent two full days in strategic planning meetings for my company. Complicated, complex stuff. What becomes immediately clear as you discuss high-level business goals and strategies is that the ideas must be communicated in clear, concise, understandable language. In other words: keep it simple.

You’re here for music not business talk. So I’ll keep it short. My takeaway from these meetings is simple: you’ve got to keep it simple. So I’m thinking about “The Mayor of Simpleton” by XTC and the brilliance of keeping things simple. It’s easy to overthink things. But sometimes the best strategy is to overthink to the point that you can simplify. Essentially, become a simpleton. Is that Jack Welch management strategy? No way. But I think Steve Jobs would embrace it–at least philosophically.

Stop all this business talk and tell me about the “Mayor of Simpleton”

The “Mayor of Simpleton” was released in 1989 by critical favorite XTC. If you’re a fan of Sgt. Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles or really well-written pop songs that are edgy enough that no one will accuse you of being a Jonas Brothers fan, you should dig deep into XTC.

Formed in Swindon, England in 1976 (the same year disco music broke and The Sex Pistols were formed), XTC released 13 records in 20 years. Not all are brilliant. But the best bits are better than great. You may know their hit “Senses Working Overtime” from the 1982 record English Settlement. Or perhaps you know the controversial “Dear God” from their 1986 record Skylarking, which was later covered and made popular by Sarah McLachlan.

They never had a big American hit. In fact, “Mayor of Simpleton” from their 1989 release titled Oranges and Lemons was their most popular American song, reaching #78 on the Billboard Top 100 (but it reached #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks in 1989). But I grow increasingly fond of the band with each passing year.

I wish I could have seem them perform live once. But it never happened largely due to the fact that singer and guitarist Andy Partridge had a mental breakdown on stage in 1982 that ultimately manifest in uncontrollable stage fright. So they became a studio band and released enduring and enjoyable studio albums you should add to your collection.

I’m a big believer that had XTC toured in the 1980s and early 1990s, they would be a household name today.

Here’s a short highlight list for you to get to know XTC:

Watch the “Mayor of Simpleton” video from Oranges and Lemons (1989)

Watch “King for a Day” video from Oranges and Lemons (1989)

Watch “Dear God” video from Skylarking (1986)

Watch “Senses Working Overtime” video from English Settlement (1982)