Nothing did more to further the cause of Alternative Nation-building than 120 Minutes, MTV’s Sunday-night video showcase of non-mainstream acts. For nearly two decades, the program spanned musical eras from ’80s college rock to ’00s indie, with grunge, Britpop, punk, industrial, electronica and more in between. MAGNET raids the vaults to resurrect our 120 favorite and unjustly forgotten videos from the show’s classic era.
#98: The Alarm “The Stand”
The terrible spray-painters in the Alarm weren’t exactly a personal favorite; the band’s inclusion here is more a nod to a not-too-ancient interview with Joe Pernice, who recommended the Welsh outfit’s early period. “The Stand,” inspired by the Stephen King novel of the same name, hails from said early period, the group’s self-titled 1983 EP. You make the call where the Alarm is concerned: Purveyors of overly earnest anthems, or the U2 that should’ve been? (Third option: Ignore this question altogether because it is 2012, after all.)
One reply on “120 Reasons To Live: The Alarm”
I love this EP. It was one of the first records I ever bought, in 1987. Purchased at the same time: Hoodoo Gurus “Blow Your Cool” on cassette and a 12″ single of “Gunning for the Buddha” by Shriekback.