Today's big news in Baseball related music blogging is that the Seatle Mariner's face of the franchise Ichiro Suzuki was traded to the New York Yankees. While Ichiro may be a few years off his prime, on any given night he is still a player capable of ruining the opposing team's night with his implacable bat and unwavering defense. Although he requested a trade several weeks back after 11.5 years with the team, he also recently stated through a translator that, "When I think about taking off the Mariners uniform, I was overcome with sadness…" 

Ichiro seems like a genuinely good guy who worked hard and earned the affection of the baseball loving upper northwest portion of the country. When he wasn't devastating the Orioles pitching staff, I loved watching him play the game, and so did Death Cab for Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard since he released a song aptly titled Ichiro's Theme today in wake of the transaction. 

It's a wonderful pop homage with an irresistible hook and a contagious sing-along quality. Baseball has a way of making you feel like a kid at any age, and this song is a prime example of that feeling. If I were Ichiro I would be proud to have inspired this song, and would consider using it as my coming to bat theme. So here's to you Ichiro, for tonight at least, because I can no longer enjoy rooting for you in pin stripes. You dig?

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Philip Glass is one of the finest modern American composers. To celebrate his 75th birthday this month he and NPR are inviting the public to participate in a premier performance of his new work of his entitled The New Rule.

He has composed the work for the occasion with the idea in mind that both amateurs and professionals should be able to come together to perform the work successfully. The concert is being held in Times Square June 21st and will be videotaped and recorded as well so that everyone may enjoy the evening regardless of attendance.

Read on for more information from NPR regarding this utterly awesome birthday party. You dig?

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Sara Watkins grew up playing with Nickel Creek and then cut her teeth out in the industry with good company like The Decemberists, Bela Fleck, and the whole arsenal of Prairie Home Companion. Her new album Sun Midnight Sun will be available May 8th, but the kindly folks over at NPR are streaming the album in its entirety at First Listen.

The album is as optimistic as spring. Its warm blend of genres, strength of Watkins song writing, and gusts appearances from artists such as Fiona Apple and Taylor Goldsmith make this new release a must hear.

Sara Watkins can also be found via her webpage and twitter. You dig?

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Sadly, on Friday April 20th clarinetist Joe Muranyi passed away after a long life and career. He was born in 1928, studied jazz with the legendary Lennie Tristano, and achieved unexpected commercial success in the 1960's playing with the Village Stompers. However, the crown jewel of his career would come in 1967 when he joined Louis Armstrong's band and played as the final clarinetist in his All Stars.

Muranyi also performed with many other notable bands including Roy Eldridge and Lionel Hampton. He will also be remembered as an engaging vocalist, prolific producer, and writer who put his pen into countless liner notes.

He was a wonderful talent and by all accounts a warm human being. If you would like to read a more personal recollection of his life, please read Ricky Riccardi's memoriam here. This performance was from a 2009 record entitled Together in which he collaborated with Lew Green. I feel that this song perfectly encompasses his sound, spirit, and amiable demeanor. I dare you to not smile when you listen to this one. Journey well Joe. Thank you for the music.

Read on for additional audio from his work with the Village Stompers.

Joe Muranyi: I Left My Sugar Standing In The Rain

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Tomorrow Andrew W.K. embarks on a special headlining tour to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of I Get Wet. He'll be performing the album in its entirety. To mark the occasion, I am inducting "She Is Beautiful" into the Shrine of Dig. It is time to party, so we will party hard!

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We at Those Who Dig have finally decided to use our powers for good instead of evil. While we hope that our promotion and distribution of great music is a service to people in and of itself, we've been wanting to do something just a little bit more with the following we've developed. With the holiday season approaching it seems like as good a time as any to get this rolling.

We've set up a Those Who Dig team page at Kiva.org that everyone is welcome to join. If you're unfamiliar with Kiva you should read about them. Basically, Kiva is a website where you can micro-lend to small-business owners in third world countries. After you sign up you can lend in interest-free increments as small as 25$ to borrowers of your choice whose mission and business is available for you to read about. Remember it's a LOAN, so you get your money back and can either take it or reinvest it in another loan.

It's incredibly simple to do and it's a great cause that does real, calculable good for real people. We don't ask anything of our readers other than enjoying the hell out of the music that we write about, so we'd be honored if you'd take a couple minutes and join our team. There will be a link in the sidebar from now on so feel free to join at anytime and lend away!

Happy Holidays!

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[THIS CONTEST IS NOW OVER. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!]

Here's an exciting new thing for Those Who Dig. We have five copies of the new 7-inch record from Saint Motel to give away to five of you lucky readers! It's called 7"1 and features the songs "At Least I Have Nothing" and "Puzzle Pieces," both of which have been featured in Weekly Roundup (here and here, respectively).

All you have to do is send us (@ThseWhoDig) and Saint Motel (@SaintMotel) a tweet. Maybe tell us something you think is cool about the music. And why not like Saint Motel on Facebook? (Or Those Who Dig for that matter, wink-wink).

You can listen to "At Least I Have Nothing" below, but don't waste too much time before you tweet if you want some free vinyl! Good luck!

SAINT MOTEL – At Least I Have Nothing by saintmotel

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I feel like lately my life has forced me to post nothing but Kickstarter plugs. Oh well, I can find the time to support great causes. Today's recipient is the one and only Caleb Coy, whose Wild Desert Rose absolutely destroyed me and was one of my favorites last year. Somebody just give him all the money he needs so he can get that shit into my hands, stat.

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Blessed Feathers – By Song Through The Americas

It's time to promote another Kickstarter drive, as we are wont to do here at Those Who Dig. Today we'd like you to reach in your jeans pocket, pull out that wad of cash you forgot was in there, and send it over the to the great Wisconsin-based band Blessed Feathers so they can rent a van and hit the road. They're offering some great rewards for donating so go do it!

Also, listen to the first single from their upcoming album above, and be sure to download their self-titled debut album for whatever price you choose on Blessed Feathers' Bandcamp page. It's a haunting beauty.

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I recently read the July / August 2011 issue of The Believer magazine. It is devoted to music and it is spectacular.

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