Episode 198: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 4)

It's a new year, and Brian and Sarah are kicking off their 2026 episodes with the next installment in their look at Depeche Mode home video concert releases.

Up for viewing and discussion this time is Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09, the concert film documenting Depeche Mode's tour for 2009's Sounds of the Universe album. As the title indicates, the movie was filmed in Barcelona over two nights, and it was directed by Russell Thomas. Prior to working with Depeche Mode, Thomas directed concert videos for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, and Coldplay, so he was no stranger to such projects. However, Brian and Sarah got the impression he was a stranger to using more traditional filming and editing techniques, providing examples of scenes, shots, and editing choices they disliked.

The filming and editing style of Russell Thomas made it more difficult than usual for Brian and Sarah to come up with answers to some of the standard questions they ask for each home video concert release, such as "Favorite Dave dance move" and "Favorite Fletch move." Fortunately, some questions were easy to answer, like, "Who wore it best? Favorite onstage garb." They then shared their rankings of all the home concert videos they've watched so far, and there were a couple of changes to the rankings.

Since this is the first episode of the year, Brian and Sarah also took some time to recap their goings-on over the past few weeks, including their appearance on the podcast "I've Got That On Vinyl," where they each picked five essential albums from their vinyl collection. They also have news about their podcast studio!

Let Brian and Sarah "take you on a trip" back to November 2009 in this episode, and let them know what you think of this concert video too.

"I've Got That On Vinyl" episode with Brian and Sarah's 5 Essential Albums https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/essential-5-records-with-brian-and-sarah-linnen/id1733663094?i=1000742902305

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

2025 Xmas Special 2: PRP Xmas Radio Reissue and Meeting Brandon Routh and Rachael Leigh Cook for Xmas

Sarah and Brian are back for one last episode in 2025!

This is mainly a reissue of the very festive 2023 Holiday music episode, but it also includes the wrap-up of the hosts' trip to the Hallmark Christmas Con in Edison, New Jersey last weekend. Brian and Sarah talk about meeting Rachael Leigh Cook from the delightful "Josie and the Pussycats" and Brandon Routh from awesome DC projects like "Superman Returns" and "Legends of Tomorrow." The trip was a ton of fun so hopefully you will enjoy the story of meeting these stars!

Then before moving into the 2023 Xmas Music special, they share two songs by two of our friends here at PRP: "Tiffany's Christmas Tree" by Venus Hum's Tony Miracle and "One Bright Star" by Chris Trapper.

Merry Christmas to all of our listeners and friends and best wishes for a wonderful holiday! We'll see you again in 2026!'

Treat yourself to Tony Miracle's new Xmas EP, "Tiffany's Christmas Tree" at https://venushum.bandcamp.com/album/tiffanys-christmas-tree-ep

Pick Up "One Bright Star" by Chris Trapper at https://christrapper.bandcamp.com/track/one-bright-star

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

2025 Xmas Special 1: Paul McCartney Deluxe Reissue and Meeting Jane Seymour for Xmas

Well, Sir Paul has reissued his classic Christmas song on yellow vinyl, so it's only fair that we reissue our 2019 discussion of "Wonderful Christmas" as well! The audio has been improved, so hopefully it will almost be like listening to a brand new episode!!

We also spend some time talking about our recent trip to the 2025 Hallmark Christmas Con and meeting a number of stars, including the legendary Jane Seymour, with whom we had a surprising conversation! It was a thrill for us, and we are very happy to give you most of the details here in this episode's exclusive bonus content!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 197: In Conversation with Chris Trapper

Brian and Sarah were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with Chris Trapper, a singer-songwriter whose musical livelihood began in the 1990s. In addition to writing, recording, and performing as lead singer and guitarist in the band The Push Stars, Chris also has a prolific solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums and EPs, touring the country extensively on his own, and opening for artists such as Pat Benatar and Colin Hay. Additionally, Chris's songs have been featured in numerous television shows and films over the years.

Chris Trapper's latest album, Watching Sparks Fly By, was released earlier in 2025, and Brian and Sarah learn from Chris about the making of the album as well as stories behind some of the songs. They also find out more about his songwriting and creative process in general, and how he feels about writing and recording music compared to performing in front of a live audience.

Since Brian and Sarah are big fans of Colin Hay—they were first introduced to Chris's music in 2012 when he opened for Colin Hay—they can't help but ask Chris a few questions about Colin, and they talk about the fact that Colin covered one of Chris's songs on Colin's 2022 album Now and the Evermore. Being fans of Pat Benatar as well, they also ask Chris about touring with Pat and her husband Neil Gerardo, and Chris reveals some impressive comments he received from both of them.

Chris turns the tables at the end of the interview and asks a few questions of Brian and Sarah, which leads to an exclusive moment you won't find anywhere else—Chris Trapper singing Depeche Mode!

It's a warm, engaging conversation with a lot of laughs interspersed between great stories, so you won't want to miss this one!

Watch the video discussed here:

Country Club

Visit https://www.christrapper.com/ for information and access to his music.

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 196: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 3) and Bowie Bingo Announcement

In this episode, Brian and Sarah resume their review of Depeche Mode home video concert releases. They're up to the 2005 album Playing the Angel, which the band supported with the "Touring the Angel" concert tour in 2005 and 2006.

The home video "Touring the Angel: Live in Milan" documents the band's two nights performing in Milan, Italy in February 2006. The director of this film is Blue Leach, who has worked with many other artists including R.E.M., Beck, and The Pet Shop Boys.

Blue Leach takes a decidedly different approach to filming and editing Depeche Mode in concert compared to past directors such as Anton Corbijn. "Touring the Angel" is a very dissimilar viewing experience to "Devotional" or "101," and Brian and Sarah have quite a lot to say about it.

They also, of course, go over the same topics/questions they're addressing for each home concert video release. However, in this episode, Sarah seems especially hard-pressed to pick a single answer for each category.

Also included in the discussion are topics such as the stage design and setup; which member of the band is almost unrecognizable after a certain point in the show; and Depeche Mode's increasing popularity as a live act.

And, as referenced in the episode title, Brian and Sarah share information about the return of Bowie Bingo this holiday season! Make sure you sign up for a slot to participate in this fun Zoom event!

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Details on how to join your friends Brian & Sarah for a few rounds of festive Bowie Bingo!

Episode 195: In Conversation with Rob Rowe and Von Hertzog (VH x RR) – New EP "101"

Brian and Sarah are interrupting their current effort of looking back at Depeche Mode home video concert releases to bring you a terrific chat with Von Hertzog and Rob Rowe.

Von and Rob comprise the excellent synth duo VH x RR, who Brian has declared to be his "favorite new band of the 2020s."

Since the completion of The Cosmos Trilogy—a series of three EPs that you should definitely check out, if you haven't already—VH x RR has released a couple of singles here and there. But in this discussion, we learn that a new EP is set for an imminent release!

The EP is titled "101," so of course the first question our hosts have for Von and Rob is regarding the title. That question is answered, along with many others—and along the way, there's a lot of interesting discussion about science fiction movies, the current state of technology, which is the best Rocky movie, and recent music projects that both Von and Rob have been involved with, outside of VH x RR.

The revelation of the upcoming new EP should be reason enough to listen, but in case it's not, there's a minor announcement at the beginning of the episode, and another major announcement towards the end of the episode, that should surely entice you to download this episode immediately! Don't delay; listen today!

Visit https://vhxrr.com for information and access to their music.

Also, be sure to visit Blaklight on Kickstarter to grab a copy of "The Haunting of Us"! It's going to be a fantastic release!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blaklightband/blaklight-the-haunting-of-us

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 194: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 2)

Brian and Sarah's mini-series on Depeche Mode's home video concert releases continues in this episode. Unlike the previous episode, which covered two movies, Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris – The Exciter Tour 2001 is the only release discussed here.

However, before getting into the discussion of that concert, Brian and Sarah spend a little time talking about their adventures on opening day of the latest DM concert movie, Depeche Mode: M. They don't go into details about their movie experience just yet, though; these stories are about the people, places and things they enjoyed before the movie.

After that sidebar, the discussion about Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris begins. There are eight years between the previous concert video (Devotional) and this one, and as DM fans know very well, a lot transpired for the band during those eight years. As of this concert, Dave Gahan is now clean and sober, and Alan Wilder has moved on from the band. Peter Gordeno and Christian Eigner appear on keyboards and drums, respectively, and of course founding members Martin Gore and Andy "Fletch" Fletcher are still around and join Dave on stage.

Longtime Depeche Mode collaborator Anton Corbijn directs this film, as well as providing background video footage shown during the concert. Brian and Sarah talk about his approach to filming and editing this show, as they answer the same ten questions for One Night in Paris as they did for …Live in Hamburg and Devotional.

In case you don't know or don't remember, a few of the other topics covered in the questionnaire are "Song to watch on repeat;" "Song to skip next time," and "Who wore it best? Favorite onstage garb." Of course, Brian and Sarah go off on tangents and discuss plenty of other things too!

Join them on this trip back to Paris in October 2001 and relive some exciting Exciter moments!

Halo - Live in Paris 2001

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 193: Depeche Mode: Home Video Concert Releases (Part 1)

With our attention turned to tomorrow's premiere of Depeche Mode's latest cinematic offering "M", we thought it would be fun to make our way through all of the previously released home video concert offerings from our favorite lads from Basildon.

This first installment covers two releases, which we still have on VHS (remember that your VCR was king back in 1985 and even 1993): "The World We Live in and Live in Hamburg" and "Devotional."

These two films carry with them the label of "classic" in our household, so it was a real treat to revisit them, armed with a set of ten hard-hitting questions to cover various aspects of each. We'll discuss such diverse topics as "Most interesting deviation from the studio version", "Do we enjoy the way this was filmed & edited?", "Favorite Fletch Move", and more!

So, as Meta AI is prompting me to say: "Relive the music, relive the moment. Join us on a trip through Depeche Mode's live legacy."

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!

Episode 192: PRP/Synthpop Symphony Crossover: Red Flag Part 2 (with DJ Matt Williams)

Brian and Sarah are once again joined by DJ Matt Williams, creator and host of the synth-tastic radio show Synthpop Symphony. Matt's show is aired on dozens of terrestrial radio stations around the world and can also be found on podcast platforms.

In the previous episode, Brian, Sarah and Matt started a discussion about the San Diego-based duo Red Flag, whose well-crafted electronic tracks were heard in countless clubs at the end of the 1980s. Their debut album, Naïve Art, was released in 1989, and the three hosts shared both information on and memories of the album, touching on numerous other topics along the way.

This episode dives into four tracks from Naïve Art, three of which were singles, and one which Brian and Sarah learned from Matt was at least considered as a single.

The chart information Sarah has for the singles is primarily for the dance charts, although Brian does take great joy being able to use one of his 1980s pop chart books to confirm some information. Matt tells stories of receiving and playing the remixes in dance clubs. Sarah also has some single reviews, and in what may be a first for the show, a video review!

The three hosts discuss each song in depth, but the conversation encompasses many other topics as well. The PRP hosts chat with Matt about the time and effort involved in planning a radio show playlist.

Information Society member and famed producer Paul Robb is mentioned, along with the group T42. And once again, Depeche Mode makes the list of discussion topics; this time the focus is on Depeche Mode's influence on music.

Songs discussed in this episode: Russian Radio If I Ever Broken Heart Pretty in Pity

Watch the video discussed: Russian Radio

Catch up with DJ Matt Williams at http://synthpopsymphony.com

Read more at http://www.permanentrecordpodcast.com/ Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/permrecordpodcast You can also find us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@permanentrecordpodcast Check out some pictures at https://www.instagram.com/permanentrecordpodcast/ Join the ever-growing crowd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/permrecordpod.bsky.social Leave a voicemail for Brian & Sarah at (724) 490-8324 or https://www.speakpipe.com/PermRecordPod - we're ready to believe you!