Last week came news that classic college-rock combo Camper Van Beethoven is set to return early next year its first album in more than eight years, and now we’ve got our first taste of ‘La Costa Perdida’ in the form of the song “Northern California Girls,” which premiered this week at Billboard.com.

For a generation raised by MTV — particularly in the late ’80s and early ’90s — they were ubiquitous: those 30-second “Rock the Vote” promos featuring stars ranging from R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe to Anthony Keidis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Madonna imploring viewers to register to vote and cast their ballots.

Just in time for Election Day, nerd-pop duo They Might Be Giants have dusted off a song they originally recorded during the 2008 presidential campaign called “Vote Or Don’t,” and have produced a new music video for the track, which you can see here, and are offering it as a free MP3 download.

Dave Gahan soon will have a new Depeche Mode album to promote, but first he’s trying his hand at selling Volkswagens: The frontman appears, fairly briefly, in a new French commercial for the VW Golf that is soundtracked by a couple cover versions of the DM staple “People Are People” as well as the original recording.

For this week’s “120 Minutes” Rewind, we highlight another “120 X-Ray” segment, this time a clip from the Aug. 21, 1988, broadcast featuring host Kevin Seal — bathed, as seemingly always, in chintzy special effects — introducing interview segments with Tracey Tracey of The Primitives.

Last month we posted a great Dinosaur Jr live set from Seattle’s KEXP that was recorded at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Ore., during MusicfestNW, and here’s another one: a full 10-song, 40-minute set from the reunited Redd Kross, touring in support of their first album in 15 years, ‘Researching the Blues.’