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Subpop has put Dntel’s new Dumbluck single online. Listen to it now!!

Dumbluck is the first song on Dntel’s new album, also titled Dumbluck. I previously covered Jimmy Tamborello’s Dumbluck.

As for the single that is available online, I think it’s pretty good. Honestly, I hated the first 40 seconds or so, and I had to force myself to listen to it. I wasn’t impressed with the sound, and I even restarted it right away because I thought I was having streaming problems, because no way could someone want that intro.

But as I finished listening to Dumbluck, it definitely grew on me, and I started to enjoy it. I’m looking forward to the rest of the CD. So kudos to Jimmy. Jimbo. The Jimster…keep it up.

Ben Gibbard, the man that makes Death Cab For Cutie and Postal Service, just announced a solo tour in May. Joining him will be David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) and Jonathan Rice (not formerly with anyone else really, besides himself).

Gibbard hasn’t worked much with Death Cab for Cutie lately, and bandmate Chris Walla has already decided to try his luck as a solo artist. His side project Postal Service with Tamborella hasn’t done much either, so Gibbard’s taking his oppurtunity to go solo a bit.

I think this is his first solo tour, but it’s not his first time playing alone. He was previously solo on Home Volume Five with Andrew Kenny. He made some pretty good music then too.

So if you’re a Death Cab and postal service fan, don’t be shy about attending a solo gig of his if he’s in your backyard. The tour schedule is below.

May 2007
3 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
4 - Chicago, IL - Metro
5 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
7 - Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre
8 - New York, NY - The Town Hall
9 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
11 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
12 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
13 - Nashville, TN - City Hall
14 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
15 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
17 - Los Angeles, CA - Royce Hall
18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
19 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
20 - Seattle, WA - Showbox

The following is a paid review:

I’ve been commissioned to review MetalUnderground.com, a music site that is self explanatory from its name. Even though I’m not a big fan of hard rock / death / black / metal music, I thought I’d take the opportunity because I like exploring music websites of all genres.

Right away when I visited Metal Underground, I was pretty impressed. It seems to have a as much of a “homey” feeling that death metal fan sites can have. The layout is nice and easy to navigate, and the content of its pages is of high quality. There isn’t too much fluff or adspace to distract visitors. Definitely good.

But more needs to be said on the content of Metal Underground. The site has…

• News - It has a highly relevant music news feed. It supports RSS / xml feeds, so you can subscribe to it.
• Band Pages - Little bios and news for whatever metal band you may like.
• Reviews - Very in depth reviews of music. If you’re too lazy to read their well developed paragraphs, there are also two sentences on “highs” “lows,” and then a “bottom line” to summarize.
• Interviews - Over 200 of them. You can have your own band interviewed by them as well, so it could be a good promotional tool.
• Galleries - Bunches of band pictures from live concerts.

Another good aspect of the site is its mission, per say. It always strives to help music fans find new artists that they may like. That’s alot like me, because helping people find new music is the sole purpose behind music bloggers.

So, if you’d like to find a new metal band, or think you may want to give the genre a play on your iPod, snoop around Metal Underground. Peace….or death. (sorry, not funny)

Modest Mouse announced that they will be releasing their new album on March 20. It’s titled and will be coming from Sony BMG / Epic once again.

Their single Dashboard has been all over the internet the past few weeks to create some buzz for their new album release. You can listen to it on their site ModestMouseMusic.com.

Modest Mouse’s new album will be released on “double 180 gram vinyl, CD, and limited edition CD with deluxe slipcase and 32 page booklet.” Also, if you’re an iTunes kind of person and choose to download it from there, you get Dashboard in your library immediately. Yippee…

The Sasquatch Music Festival, which is scheduled for May 26 and 27 over Memorial Day weekend has just announced their list of performers. The list is preliminary, so things could possibly still change. However, that’s usually just a disclaimer.

So, for the list…

Saturday, the 26 of May…
Björk
The Arcade Fire
Manu Chao Radio Bemba Sound System
M.I.A.
Citizen Cope
Neko Case
The Hold Steady
Grizzly Bear
Ghostland Observatory
Electrelane
Two Gallants
The Slip
Loney, Dear
Aqueduct
The Thermals
Viva Voce
The Blow
Gabriel Teodros

Sunday…

Beastie Boys
Interpol
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Spoon
Bad Brains
Ozomatli
Dandy Warhols
The Black Angels
Mirah
Tokyo Police Club
Money Mark
St. Vincent
Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
Smoosh
Common Market
Helio Sequence
Minus the Bear

It’s a pretty decent lineup, but honestly, I don’t think it really compares to last years offering. Last year featured Sufjan Stevens, Ben Harper, Death Cab for Cutie, Matisyahu, Jamie Liddell, Iron and Wine, and the Shins! Granted, it is nearly impossible to follow a lineup with those artists.

Sirius has announced they will buy larger satellite radio rival, XM Radio in a stock deal worth $4.6 Billion. The purchase would put XM Radio’s total valuation 21% higher than its current stock price of $14.

The merging of the two satellite radio giants has really been inevitable since their conception. I remember watching CNN two years ago and they were already talking about how the exit strategy for both companies must include a buyout or merger if they want to survive. I also remember seeing an interview with one of the CEOs over a year ago, and rumors were already flying about a merger. Of course, the CEO shot them down, but it has just seemed unavoidable.

You don’t have to take my word for it, because here are some old posts that confirm the ramblings.

January 2005: Endgadget talks about a potential merger that would be shutdown by the FCC.

June 2006: Sirius CEO shuts down any ideas surrounding XM buying Sirius or any potential merger, saying he’ll be gone if it happens. He does say that a purchase of XM Radio would be okay though. He’s a man of his word. Story from Gizmodo.

February 2007: Today’s story. It looks like it’s going to happen, but who really knows the way these companies move and shake. The FCC could still get in the way of the deal.

It’ll be kind of interesting to see how this all plays out. I personally don’t think satellite radio is here to stay, so I’m interested to see what’s going to happen if the industry starts trending downward.