[Cover photo credit to Jules Peters]
Welsh Alt-Rock band The Alarm have announced new album Music Television, a homage to “the video explosion” of the 1980s through a “reinterpreted collection of MTV channel classics.” Music Television will only be available on vinyl and CD at venues throughout the Live Today Love Tomorrow Tour or online at TheAlarm.com.
Inspired by David Bowie’s 1973 album of cover versions, Pin Ups, Music Television reinterprets songs from some of Rock’s most well-known visual music.
Mike Peters of The Alarm says:
The Alarm came of age in the MTV era. So many of our longstanding fans grew up on MTV and saw The Alarm for the first time on MTV’s The Cutting Edge or via the historic ‘Spirit Of ‘’86 Live Global Broadcast’ concert, and have stayed with us ever since.
The first single from Music Television is a Psychedelic David Bowie-inspired / Nirvana-influenced acoustic cover of “The Man Who Sold The World,” which Peters attributes to his fascination with the groundbreaking MTV Unplugged acoustic performance series.
He says:
Unplugged was a series that redefined music as we knew it. I remember watching in awe at some of the incredible stripped-down arrangements of classic songs and, at the same time envious that I had been denied the opportunity to appear on the show back in the day. [The Alarm appeared in the series’ first season but without Peters]. This is my chance to take back part of music television history and pay my respects to an era that changed everything.
Music Television kicks off with a reimagining of the first ever song to be played on MTV back in 1981, The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star” with a lyric change that reflects the threat of A.I. and new technology on Rock and Roll as we now know it.
Their tour, which was announced earlier this year, has been extended coast to coast, with over 30 shows starting in New Orleans on May 1st and continuing through to July when the tour reaches Florida. The Alarm also features on the bill of the Cruel World Festival in California on May 11th, alongside Duran Duran, Simple Minds, Placebo and Interpol.
Music Television by The Alarm will be released as a Limited Edition Yellow / Purple Vinyl press exclusively via the band’s website www.thealarm.com, and on CD at all US venues throughout the Live Today Love Tomorrow Tour.
Tour Dates:
* The Alarm only
** The Alarm / Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel only
PART ONE:
| May 01 | New Orleans, LA | House of Blues | |
| May 02 | Austin, TX | Emo’s | |
| May 03 | Houston, TX | House of Blues | |
| May 04 | Ft. Worth, TX | Tannahill’s | |
| May 07 | Kansas City, MO | Knuckleheads | |
| May 08 | Minneapolis, MN | TBA | |
| May 09 | Chicago, IL | Des Plaines Theatre | |
| 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, NY | Asbury Hall | |
| May 15 | Cleveland, OH | Temple Live @ Masonic | |
| May 16 | Asbury Park, NJ | 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 |
