Random news bites from the last several days (excluding anything about Michael Jackson … well, mostly).

Regina Spektor’s new album, far, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 this week and the lovely Russian-born songstress is scheduled to perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Thursday, July 30. Slipping to the No. 2 spot this week are the Jonas Brothers with Vines And Trying Times, which held last week’s No. 1 position. Black Eyed Peas have moved to the top of the charts with The E.N.D. And in case you BEP fans were worried, the title doesn’t foreshadow the band’s immenint break-up, but stands for “The Energy Never Dies.” Clever.

Seattle grunge metal makers Alice in Chains have confirmed the dates of their upcoming world tour, sans lead voice Layne Staley, who, if you recall, faded away into reclusivity before he speedballed to his death in 2002. The tour supports the band’s first new studio release in more than 10 years, Black Gives Way to Blue (in stores September 29). The first single, “A Looking View,” is currently streaming on their MySpace page and definitely has the feel of classic Alice in Chains, complete with the hard-meets-soft harmonies by vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrel and Staley replacement, vocalist/guitarist William Duvall. Here’s a statement the band released about the new song: “The song basically speaks to any number of things that keep you balled up inside. A cell of our own making with an unlocked door that we choose to remain in. Focusing our attention inward instead of reaching out to a much larger world. I think this is common to us all. It’s funny how hard we fight to hang on to a bone we can’t pull through a hole in the fence, or how difficult it is to put down the bag of bricks and move on.” Current confirmed U.S. stops include Detroit, DC, Chicago, NYC, Milwaukee, Portland and San Francisco. No telling whether the tour will bring them to Florida.

San Francisco indie rock duo The Dodos (pictured) are set to release their third album, Time To Die, via Frenchkiss on September 15. Produced by Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, The Shins), the album is marked by the band’s key instrumental elements — the energetic percussion of Logan Kroeber and the finger-picking acoustic guitar work of frontman Meric Long — with extra texture created by Keaton Snyder on vibraphone. The Dodos will embark hit the road this September and October, making stops in Tallahassee on Tuesday, October 6 at the Club Downunder, and in Atlanta Wednesday, October 7 at The Earl.

American-Australian multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter John Butler has returned with an all-new trio and a forthcoming album featuring the fresh lineup, which includes two Aussie natives: drummer/percusionist Nicky Bomba and bass player Byron Luiters. The John Butler Trio is not coming to a venue anywhere near you, but watch out for the new album. Butler’s a pretty great songsmith.

Jeff Tweedy has always gotten under my skin. As much as I like Wilco’s music, the frontman makes headlines far too often for some asshole maneuver — like when he punched an over-rowdy fans in the face when a simple “Get the fuck off my stage” would’ve sufficed — and he oftentimes comes off as a total dick and says mean things he can’t take back. The latest was the sort of stereotypical ugliness you’d expect towards the hippies of San Francisco. After his son Spencer went shopping in Berkeley and returned dressed head-to-toe in tie-dye, Tweedy reportedly cried, “Look what you’ve done to my son, you dirty hippies!” Then, to his son, he yelled, “Now go take a bath.” What a classy guy!

All right, I know I promised no Michael Jackson news, but I just had to share this little tidbit: Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s far less successful older bro, has followed the path of the rest of the family and made a statement. “”He went too soon. I don’t know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me.” What I want to know is, when did Jermaine lose his sense of self-worth? Poor guy.

According to industry insiders, three Michael Jackson albums — Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller — each sold 100,000 copies last week. The sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday (June 28) night and will be reported today. That means the bulk of the sales took place in the three days after Jackson’s death.

Those six-figure tallies would’ve put the three discs at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the Billboard 200 —slightly ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. — but catalog albums are not eligible for the album sales chart, so Jackson will instead dominate the Pop Catalog survey.

Read more.

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing late night TV; set your TIVOs or DVRs if you’ve got an early bedtime.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, June 8: Mos Def (Performing something off his fourth and latest solo album, The Ecstatic, out June 9. Maybe “Supermagic”?)
Tuesday, June 9: Black Eyed Peas
Wednesday, June 10: Sonic Youth
Thursday, June 11: the Jonas Brothers (Won’t these kids go away already? We still have to deal with the tour stopping here August 18.)
Friday, June 12: P.J. Harvey & John Parish

The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, NBC
Tuesday, June 9: Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal (Likely promoting their “BonTaj Roulet” co-headlining tour, a series of concerts where the two veteran blues artists perform separate sets with their own bands, and then take the stage together for a blues jam)
Wednesday, June 10: Rancid
Thursday, June 11: Neko Case (The rest of this week’s schedule + video of Pearl Jam on Conan after the jump.)

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Wednesday, June 10: Theresa Andersson (pictured, photo by Miranda Penn Turin)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Monday, June 8: Amadou & Mariam
Tuesday, June 9: Mos Def
Wednesday, June 10: Manchester Orchestra
Friday, June 12: Mary J. Blige

Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC
Monday, June 8: the Airborne Toxic Event (rerun, May 14)
Tuesday, June 9: No Doubt
Wednesday, June 10: Bang Camaro (April 29)
Thursday, June 11: Blink 182

Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC
Monday, June 8: the Ting Tings (April 27)
Tuesday, June 9: Green Day
Wednesday, June 10: Green Day
Thursday, June 11: Green Day
Friday, June 12: Foxboro Hot Tubs

Saturday Night Live, NBC
Saturday, June 13: Green Day (jeez, you think we’ll get to see enough of Green Day this week?)

For those who missed it, here’s Pearl Jam closing Conan’s first day on the job of The Tonight Show with a new song, “Get Some,” off their forthcoming album.

Pearl Jam on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien – June 1, 2009 from Bernie on Vimeo.

As an addendum to my recent column, “Traveling to see music without losing your money (or your mind),” I’ve put together this small group of shows and fests that provide some good selections for music-motivated travel. If you haven’t already made travel plans this summer, here are some of your best bets.

Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio
Saturday, June 13, The Tabernacle, Atlanta
If you wanna go, get your tickets now — it’s a Saturday night co-headlining bill featuring of two of Brooklyn’s most hip and beloved bands, both with recent albums — Grizzly’s just-released Veckatimest, TVOTR’s fantastic Dear Science from last year — so the show will most definitely sell out. I would be at this show, front row, if I wasn’t just returning from a music-motivated vacation that same Thursday.

The Decemberists (pictured) with Andrew Bird and Blind Pilot
July 18-19, Edgefield, Portland, Oregon
The chamber rock quintet only comes as close as Atlanta and plays that date on Wednesday, June 3 — not at all convenient for a road trip unless you plan on taking that week off. But the tour also includes this appealing Saturday-Sunday run in Portland, and with whistling singer/songwriter Andrew Bird, and Portland’s own indie pop duo, Blind Pilot.

All Points West Festival Music & Arts Festival
July 31-Aug. 2, Jersey City, New Jersey
The rather fatty fest lineup makes up for the unsavory setting, and you can always take a ride six miles over to NYC if you get tired of the obnoxious accents. Or the smell.
Music highlights: Tool (pictured), Coldplay, Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, Echo & The Bunnymen, Vampire Weekend, The National, MGMT, the Ting Tings, Gogol Bordello, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Q-Tip, the Pharcyde, Ra Ra Riot, Arctic Monkeys, Neko Case, Crystal Castles, Kool Keith, The Black Keys, Elbow, Telepathe, Tokyo Police Club, White Rabbits, the Postelles, Silversun Pickups, the Gaslight Anthem, Steel Train, Heartless Bastards, Mogwai, Ghostland Observatory, Lykke Li, Akron/Family and others.

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
August 28-30, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
San Francisco is fun to visit, fog and all — there are literally dozens upon dozens of things to do aside from the music; the Ghirardelli Square (free chocolate!), Chinatown, Amoeba Music, Haight-Ashbury, City Lights … And this eco-friendly fest boasts a bevy of awesome acts with more TBA.
Music highlights: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Incubus, Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., Ween, The Mars Volta, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Lucinda Williams, Thievery Corporation, Tom Jones, Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Mastodon, Raphael Saadiq, Band of Horses, TV on the Radio, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Bat for Lashes, The Avett Brothers, Silversun Pickups, Calexico, Os Mutantes, Tea Leaf Green, Deerhunter, The National, Q-tip, Calexico, Kinky, The Dodos, Lila Downs, Bettye Lavette, Los Campesinos!, Lenka, Akron/Family John Vanderslice, The Morning Benders, West Indian Girl, Portugal. The Man, and Extra Golden.

A weekly bulletin on musical guests playing late night TV; set your TIVOs or DVRs if you’ve got an early bedtime.

The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS
Monday, May 4: Keri Hilson with Kanye West (pictured … “Make Love” or “Knock You Down,” I wonder?)
Tuesday, May 5: Franz Ferdinand
Wednesday, May 6: Ben Harper & Relentless7
Thursday, May 7: Animal Collective (can’t wait to see this one)
Friday, May 8: Chris Cornell

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC
Monday, May 4: Eli Young Band
Tuesday, May 5: Robert Randolph and the Family Band with the Clark Sisters (likely performing their gospel version of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” from the forthcoming WalMart exclusive compilation, Oh Happy Day.)
Wednesday, May 6: Van Morrison
Friday, May 8: Jewel (still doing the flowery country thing)

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS
Tuesday, May 5: Jenny Lewis (pictured)
Wednesday, May 6: Zac Brown Band

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NBC
Monday, May 4: Adele (This girl is everywhere, and I’m loving it for her!)
Tuesday, May 5: Yusuf Islam (The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens. Haven’t checked up on him in a while, but he’s got his own MySpace page, and the voice still sounds pretty darn warm and familiar.)
Wednesday, May 6: The National
Thursday, May 7: Ben Harper & Relentless7

Jimmy Kimmel Live, ABC
Monday, May 4: The Whip (rerun, April 22)
Wednesday, May 6: Black Eyed Peas
Thursday, May 7: Flo Rida (pictured)
Friday, May 8: Scott Weiland

Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC
Monday, May 4: Lykke Li (rerun, April 16)
Tuesday, May 5: Lily Allen (I’m sorry, but am I the only one who’s not that into Allen’s new album? It seems pretty watered down, not real fun, and not what I expected after her first, which was really fun.)
Wednesday, May 6: Bobby Ray
Thursday, May 7: Black Kids
Friday, May 8: Ida Maria

Saturday Night Live, NBC
Saturday, May 9: Ciara

If you missed it last week, here’s Bat for Lashes performing “Daniel” on Letterman. Me likey.

Now in its 24th years, the Winter Music Conference brings industry professionals and electro acts from around the world to Miami for all manner of networking, panels and performance opportunities, from private parties to slots at WMC’s Ultra Music Festival. Ultra  continues with its usual roster of traditional DJs, producers and electronica acts — The Prodigy, Paul Van Dyk, Booka Shade, Moby, Tiësto, Carl Cox and the like — but expands upon the definition of electro music with offerings that include newer groups like Cut Copy, MSTRKRFT, Simian Mobile Disco, Crystal Castles and The Whip, and groups that aren’t necessarily electro, but include electro elements in their music: The Ting Tings, Bloc Party, Black Eyed Peas, Santigold and Hercules and Love Affair. Luckily for Tampa folks, the state is so oversaturated with this influx of artists that we get much of the runoff as many stop in or around town to play a show while on their way to or from the fest. The following is a breakdown of electro shows within a 2 1/2-hour radius that are worthy of your attention.

Friday, March 27
WMNF presents Synthetic Pleasures w/Girls on Film/Genre Baptist/I Kill Pxls/DJ Curse Mackey. ’MNF has joined the electro bandwagon with its own Florida-grown bill headed up by all-female Tallahassee fourtet Girls on Film (pictured), who do the glam ’80s thing complete with computer drums and programming, shrill vocals, teased hair and cakey make-up, and retro prom outfits. 9 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $7.

Kraak and Smaak w/Special Guest DJs Mighty White and Willyvegas Kraak and Smaak (direct translation: “crunchy and tasty”) are a new but rather well-regarded Netherlands electro trio that combines pimplicious funk grooves with breakbeats and loungey house. 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $12 in advance/$15 day of show.

Cut Copy w/Matt & Kim The Melbourne, Australia trio marry Dark Wave punk (affected vocals, theatric synths) with a healthy dose of digi-electro dance fun. Definitely worth the drive. 7 p.m., Club Firestone, Orlando, $19.99 in advance/$22 DOS.

Saturday, March 28
Creative Loafing presents Sensory Overload 4.0 w/Eliot Lipp/Michna/Soft Rock Renegades CL’s multi-sensory art party, Sensory Overload 4.0, goes digital in its fourth year and in honor of the occasion, we’ve brought some pretty stellar electro artists on board to entertain. Glitch-hopping producer Eliot Lipp (pictured), who currently resides in Brooklyn with the rest of the hip-as-shit music-making community, brings the electro funk straight from ’84 – bumpin’ beats and breaks, vintage synth action, 8-bit arcade blips. It’s almost like you’re in Beverly Hills Cop and Eddie Murphy’s gonna come creeping ‘round the corner any minute with his 9mm and retro ‘stache. Lipp’s latest, Peace Love Weed 3D, was released on Old Tacoma Records in January and has gotten some good buzz. Apparently, Lipp actually creates the tracks from his recordings live on stage, his shows a fusion of live keys and synthesizers manipulated with computers and MIDI controllers. Ghostly International Michna is also a Brooklyn-based producer who draws from an urban palette, though his booty-on-the-floor beats have a breezier, tropical feel with live horns and playfully scattered samples. Tampa’s own Soft Rock Renegades round out the bill with electro spins before and in between the producer sets. 9 p.m.-1 a.m., The Honey Pot, Ybor City, $10.

Sunday, March 29
The Ting Tings Last year, Brit pop duo The Ting Tings (made up of singer/guitarist Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino, pictured) jumped right to No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with “That’s Not My Name,” a bumpin’ dance-punk number with White singing in an insolent talk-sing style against clap-stomp beats. While they didn’t get quite as much airplay in the U.S., the pair still managed to make some rather significant waves, and their Tampa stop will likely sell out. 8 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $15.

Matt & Kim w/Select Start/Tiger Beat. The keyboard-driven boy-girl dance-punk duo Matt Johnson (keys/vocals) and Kim Schifino (drums/vocals), out of Brooklyn, bring a fresh-faced, rambunctious charm to their upbeat, fuzzy dance ditties. 7 p.m., Czar, Ybor City, $8 in advance/$10 DOS (all ages).

The Presets w/The Golden Filter. The Aussie industrial electro-house-meets-New-Wave duo drops a deluxe, expanded version of its 2008 sophmore album, Apocalypso — which garnered them six ARIA Awards, Australia’s version of the Junos — on May 5. The new release will include expanded artwork and a bonus disc of remixes by Lifelike, Digitalism’s Jence Moelle, Mouse On Mars, Jori Hulkkonen, Still Going and D.I.M. 8 p.m., Common Grounds, Gainesville, $12 in advance/$15 DOS.