The Red Radio

Camouflage re-release "Spice Crackers"

Camouflage are one of the more underrated band's to emerge from the 80's.  Those in the know, and those that paid attention, realize how great these guys really were/are.  Many often confused them with Depeche Mode as their earlier sound was no doubt comparable.  Their most well known track, The Great Commandment (watch video), was a staple in the Modern Rock mix at the time. 

Camouflage's 1995 out-of-print album, Spice Crackers, will see a re-release on August 28th.  The album will be presented as a double-CD, featuring the original track line-up on disc one and a bonus CD of 14 tracks, 11 of which are previously released.  We like the sound of that.  11 unheard tracks? Yes, please. 

We are less familiar with the band's material from the 90's so we are pretty excited to jump into this one.  If you are not familiar with the band, make sure to check out earlier albums like Voices & Images and Methods of Silence. 

CD 1 Tracklist
1 Spice Crackers
2 X-Ray (audio sample)
3 Kraft
4 Electronic Music
5 Bad News
6 Days Run Wild
7 A Place In China
8 Zwischenspiel 2
9 Funky Service
10 Back To Heaven
11 Je Suis Le Dieu
12 Ronda’s Trigger
13 Travelling Without Moving
14 Spacetrain

CD 2 Tracklist
1 Spice Crackers (FX Mix)
2 Bad News (Aural Float Mix)
3 In Search Of Ray Milland
4 Wet Electronics
5 Back To Heaven (Flanger Mix)
6 Spacetrain (Ambient Mix)
7 Je Suis Le Dieu (Demo Version)
8 Liberation (Part 2)
9 Steward
10 Eros Lunch (Edit)
11 5 Seconds (Edit)
12 The Kroeppelshagen Tapes #1
13 The Kroeppelshagen Tapes #3
14 Band Introduction by Wu Shan Zhuan

a-ha cover Depeche Mode

a-ha performed a rousing cover of Depeche Mode's A Question Of Lust for BBC 2 this past Saturday in London.  The guys recorded the track, along with; The Sun Always Shines On TV, Riding The Crest, Hunting High And Low, Take On Me, Analogue and new single, Foot Of The Mountain.

The session also included an interview with host Dermot O'Leary and some Q&A's via fan e-mail. Photos from the session can be seen here. 

Listen to the band's take on the Martin Gore classic:

Shirley Manson talks Guitar Hero 5

Shirley Manson will appear as herself in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5. Players will be able to choose Manson as a playable character. Check out the below footage of Manson, in game, performing Garbage's Only Happy When It Rains. She is looking mighty good as her video game animated self. The clip also features Manson, in her actual human form, discussing her involvement in the game. Guitar Hero 5 is due in shops on September 1st. We've posted the original video for Only Happy When It Rains at the bottom of this post for a little walk down memory lane. 

Video: The Rumble Strips, "Not The Only Person" live via Biz Session

We must admit, we are obsessing a bit over the new Rumble Strips album, Welcome To The Walk Alone.  The guys recently performed and shot a session for The Sun UK's Biz Session. 

The band kicked things off with current single Not The Only Person, top ten contender for the year, eh?

Watch the performance here. 

And yes, we are going to say it again, we love the new cover. 

Arctic Monkeys set sail in new video for "Crying Lightning"

Ahoy, mateys.  Arctic Monkeys have set sail in the video for new single Crying Lighting.  We like the song, although nothing they do will ever top Fake Tales Of San Francisco.  Now is that because the song entails our homeland? Or because it kicks some major ass?  A bit of both we'd say. 

The guys will perform tracks from their new album Humbug, live via the web, this Thursday at 9:00pm GMT. 

The performance will take place on the band's web transmission page here. 

Tune in or catch the Monkeys live in Hollywood at the Palladium on September 15th.  East Bay friends can mark their calendars for a show at the Fox Theater in Oakland the following night, the 16th. 

Trashcan Sinatras kick off U.S. tour this week, behind the scenes footage

The Trashcan Sinatras officially kick off their U.S. tour this week on Tuesday in San Diego.  The guys will play the Troubadour here in LA on Wednesday night, followed by two shows in San Francisco at Cafe du Nord on the 30th and 31st. 

Things "officially" kicked off with a warm-up show at The Coach House down in San Juan Capistrano last week.  If you want to take a peek at the set list, click here.  We are a bit bummed to see that nothing from Cake made it to the stage?  Hopefully a surprise or two is in the works for the LA show? How amazing would it be to hear Funny or Maybe I Should Drive?

Click here for the full list of dates beyond California. 

Check out the below footage of the band in rehearsal last week in San Pedro.  Gearing up for the road:

Also some behind the scenes footage from a recent photo shoot done here in Los Angeles:

The Thermals strip down for Daytrotter Session

The Thermals recently recorded a Daytrotter session comprised of three tracks.  Two songs, I Let It Go and You Dissolve, are taken from the band's recent release, Now We Can See.  The third track, I Can't Let Go, is previously unreleased and serves as a sequel of sorts to I Let It Go. 

We really love these recordings, they are really refreshing and Hutch Harris's vocals come through so raw and engaging.  It reminds us how much we love these guys.  They were excellent a few weeks back at The Troubadour. 

I Can't Let Go is a great track.  Hopefully an official version soon?

Download all three tracks here. 

Anyone heading down to Portland's Jackpot Records show this eve?

"Springwatch" host mixes nature reporting and The Smiths

Ever thought of a bird as a Handsome Devil? 

Or better yet, ever think of nature and The Smiths in the same head space?  Most likely not, unless you've been watching BBC's nature program Springwatch. 

Host Chris Packham has a habit of name dropping titles of songs by The Smiths in as much of his hosting conversation as possible.  He's actually quite clever and witty, usually cracking up co-host Kate Humble, who often seems to be waiting for the next Moz-penned anthem to attack.  She's even managed to work in one or two herself. 

Some brilliant, brilliant person compiled all of Packham's song title drops (and one of Kate's) into a nice little video clip.  See below.

P.S. Notice Packham's Jesus and Mary Chain shirt.  We think this guy may be our new hero. 

Placebo live from the "iTunes Live" festival, digital EP, video of "Special K"

 

July is the month of the iTunes Live festival,  live music all month long!

They are celebrating with 31 nights of live music and 62 bands - wow.  It's all happening in the UK at the infamous Roadhouse in Camden.

Placebo took the stage last week on the 14th and the live EP component has just hit the iTunes shop for sale.  You get six tracks recorded from the show, as well as a digital booklet containing exclusive images from the evening. 

All six tracks are taken from the band's current album, Battle For The Sun.

Placebo: iTunes Live: London Festival '09 - EP track listing:

Ashtray Heart
Battle For The Sun
For What It's Worth
The Never-Ending Why
Devil In The Details
Happy You're Gone

Purchase the EP here.

Fans of the more old school Placebo can relish in the live clip of the guys performing Special K below: 

808 State, download a demo of "Star Chamber" now

One of our favorite artists from our electronic music/rave days is 808 State.  Heck the guys did amazing work with Bernard Sumner, Bjork and UB40. 

Anybody check out the insane re-issues yet?  All the info here. 

Anyway, the point of this post is to tell you that the guys have put up a new free download of the track Star Chamber. A demo version recorded back in 2000.  It sure sounds like the good old days of 808. 

Click here to download. While you're there, check out the hefty offering of free downloads the band is so generously offering up. 

* With Bjork (obviously) in the photo above.