“AI killed the rock and roll star,” sing Welsh alternative rock icons THE ALARM as they prepare for the release of their new album MUSIC TELEVISION, a Technicolor tribute to the 1980s video explosion via from a reinterpreted collection of classics from the MTV channel. Music Television will only be available on vinyl and CD in venues during the Live Today Love Tomorrow tour (info below) or online at LaAlarma.com.
Inspired by David Bowie's 1973 glam-proto-punk covers album. Pin Ups, musical television by The Alarm will go back to the future reinterpreting songs from some of rock's most influential and defining moments in visual music. “The Alarm came of age in the MTV era” Peters continues, “Many of our lifelong fans grew up on MTV and first saw The Alarm on MTV's The Cutting Edge or through the historic 'Spirit Of '86 Live Global Broadcast' concert, and have stayed with us ever since.” ,
Featuring 11 tracks celebrating influential and underrated Generation MTV artists who changed and influenced the lives of so many people, the first single from musical television is a David Bowie-inspired, Nirvana-influenced, psychedelic acoustic version of “The Man Who Sold The World.” which Mike Peters attributes to his fascination with the groundbreaking acoustic performance series MTV Unplugged. “Unplugged was a series that redefined music as we knew it.” he says. “I remember looking in awe at some of the incredible stripped-down arrangements of classic songs and, at the same time, being envious that I had been denied the opportunity to appear on the show in the past. [The Alarm appeared in the series’ first season but without Peters]. “This is my chance to recapture some of the history of music television and pay my respects to an era that changed everything.”
PROGRAM ONE
Money for nothing (Narrowing)
The video killed the radio star (The Buggles)
Live Today Love Tomorrow (The Blow Monkeys)
Imagination (Belouis Some)
Beat It (Michael Jackson)
PROGRAM TWO
Don't change (INXS)
In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins)
I melt with you (modern English)
Screaming for Emmalene (Gene loves Jezebel)
The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
MTV Theme
musical television begins with a reinvention of the first song played on MTV back in 1981: “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles with a subtle change in the lyrics that reflects the threat of artificial intelligence and new technologies in rock and roll as we know it now. he. Dire Straits' MTV anthem “Money For Nothing” (the first song played on MTV Europe in 1987) is refashioned into a harmonica-driven garage rock anthem in the electroacoustic style of Neil Young's Crazy Horse. Other songs being reinvented include “Don't Change” by INXS, “Live Today Love Tomorrow” by The Blow Monkeys, “Beat It” by Michael Jackson and the Modern English classic “I Melt With You” (list full list of songs below). ).
A new version of Phil Collins' “In The Air Tonight” takes the spacious atmosphere of the original and injects raw electronic blues into the mix, centering it around Peters' iconic vocals. “I was walking with my guitar in New York's Central Park when I came across a busker playing a stripped down minor key version on a beat up old guitar and I joined in.” Peters recalls of their chance meeting in 2023. “It was really surprising to hear such a familiar song in an unfamiliar environment. I asked him where he first heard the song and he said: 'MTV, man!' and that gave me the inspiration for this version of the song.”
As an honor to their Live Today tourmates Love Tomorrow MMXXIV, Belouis Some, and Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel (who had considerable success on MTV and US Radio Networks in the mid-'80s), The Alarm pays tribute with covers of “Imagination” (which caused huge controversy on MTV with the first completely nude video directed by Storm Thorgerson) and “Screaming For Emmalene,” respectively.
The tour, which was announced earlier this year, has spread from coast to coast, with more than 30 shows kicking off in New Orleans on May 1 and continuing through July, when the tour comes to Florida. The Alarm are also on the bill for the huge Cruel World Festival in California on May 11, alongside Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Placebo and Interpol.
musical television by The Alarm will be released as limited edition yellow/purple vinyl exclusively through the band's website. www.thealarm.comand on CD at all US venues during the Live Today Love Tomorrow tour.
PART ONE:
May 1 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
May 2 Austin, TX Emo's
May 3 Houston, TX House of Blues
May 4 Ft. Worth, TX Tannahill's
May 7 Kansas City, MO Knuckleheads
May 8 Minneapolis, MN TBA
May 9 Chicago, IL Des Plaines Theater
May 10 Detroit, MI Magic Bag
May 11 Los Angeles. CA Cruel World *
May 12 Pittsburgh, PA Jergels
May 13 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
May 14 Buffalo, New York Asbury Hall
May 15 Cleveland, OH Temple Live @ Masonic
May 16 Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Lanes
May 17 Philadelphia, PA Colonial Theater [Phoenixville)
May 18 Falls Church, VA State Theater
May 19 Richmond, VA The National
May 22 Huntington, NY Paramount
May 23 Pawling, NY Daryl’s House **
May 24 New York, NY Irving Plaza
May 25 Salisbury, MA Blue Ocean Music Hall
May 26 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place
May 29 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
PART TWO:
June 18 Seattle, WA APEX Art and Cultural Center
June 20 San Francisco, CA Bimbos 365
June 21 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
June 25 Denver, CO Oriental Theater
June 28 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom
July 03 West Palm Beach, FL Respectable Street
July 05 Mt Dora / Orlando, FL Mt. Dora Music Hall
July 06 Clearwater, FL Capitol Theater
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