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.

The Dodos perform solid, straighforward, no-frills-attached acoustic-driven pop music, and their 2008 album, Visiter, was among one of my favorites last year. Here’s the band performing “Red and Purple” and  “Eyelids” from Visiter, and what seems to be a new song, “Fables,” on Pitchfork TV. (See the video after the jump.)

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.

Guitar World recently offered up a list of the “Top 10 Stupidest Band Names of All Time” and I gotta say, it doesn’t look like they put a lot of thought into it, like someone had a good idea but didn’t use enough brain power to carry it out properly. Here’s the list:

1. The Beatles
2. Limp Bizkit
3. Boy Parts – Throbbing Gristle, Revolting Cocks, Iron Sausage
4. Girl Parts – Nashville Pussy, Bush, Pussy Galore, Hot Tuna
5. Scatological Names – Butthole Surfers, Fudge Tunnel, Butt Trumpet
6. Place Names – Nantucket, Boston, New York City, Europe, Asia, Chicago, Wakefield, Landale
7. Yes
8. Toto
9. The Presidents of the United States of America
10. The Band

First off, it’s not even an authentic Top 10 (see numbers 3 through 6). Second, The Beatles? You’re a writer at a marginally well-known rag that covers music, solely, all the time, and you can’t come up with a better bad band name than The Beatles? And you stick it up top, in the number one slot, as if to say it’s the worst band name of all time, even though the list is supposed to be in no particular order. And if it really is in no particular order — The Beatles were the first band you thought of? Really? I don’t want to judge, but I am. So I’ve made my own highly subjective, somewhat thoughtful list of awful band names in response. In no particular order:

1. Architecture in Helsinki (pictured below)
“Helsinki” is the capital of Finland, though AH is not Finnish but Australian, and they never even played the European country until ‘07, seven years after they formed. From an interview with Bassist Sam Perry: “When we were in Norway at the end of last year there were a few Finnish interviewers who came to interview us mainly about the name. I think they were quite perplexed. To us, the name means having to answer many questions and inquiries about the name, which I guess is entirely understandable.” You think?

2. Department of Eagles
As much as I love this Grizzy Bear-offshoot, I hate the name. In fact, it was the name that kept me from really listening to them; I probably had The Cold Nose in my iPod for three months before I actually checked it out.

3. My Morning Jacket
Another band whose name turned me off enough that I avoided their music. And I still hate the name, though the music has proven itself worthy enough to return to time and time again.

4. Bang Camaro
The band’s name apparently began as a catchphrase and was the sole lyric in Bang Camaro’s very first song. It has something to do with the band members’ shared love of head-banging metal (Dokken, Ratt and the like), which makes sense as the name reeks of sweaty, bull-headed testosterone.

And on that same note …

5. Pontiak
Another band named after a GM vehicle, though it’s a vehicle with considerably less appeal. I know nothing about Pontiak (with a “k” so you don’t actually confuse it with the car) other than the fact that they play heavy psychedelic garage rock and are coming to town Feb. 22. Unfortunately for them, I’ve already developed an aversion simply based on their moniker – at least Bang Camaro takes its own dumb moniker from a rather awesome car.

6. The Dodos
Great band, baffling name as there are three definitions for “dodo” and none of them are really what I’d call flattering:
1. A large, clumsy, flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus), formerly of the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, that has been extinct since the late 17th century.
2. Informal One who is out-of-date, as in dress or ideas.
3. Informal A stupid person; an idiot.

7. Echo & The Bunnymen
Among a rather large group of Dark Wave bands with truly awful names. I get it, it’s an army reference, but that doesn’t make the name sound any less stupid. I mean, how do I talk about liking this band without sounding like a complete douche?

And speaking of Dark Wave …

8. The Cocteau Twins
You pick the name of another band’s song, and you couldn’t come up with a better song than that?

9. Weaksauce
I was always under the impression that calling something weaksauce was an insult. The locally-based ska reggae band might as well have named themselves “we suck.”

10. Candlebox
The hubbie suggested this one and after careful thought, I decided I agree. What the fuck is a candlebox, anyway? A votive holder? Might as well call yourself votive holder, assholes.

What band do you think has the stupidest name ever? I’m sure there are plenty I’m forgetting…