Well it's not instantaneous, but it is happening. Dean Wareham is going to let LUNA go the way of Galaxie 500...

On October 26, we will release our seventh studio album, Rendezvous, on Jetset Records. This will be Luna's final record. We will tour the United States and Europe over the next six months, playing our last shows in 2005." We've received a lot of kind emails, people asking why the will be going into retirement next year. Of course with a decision like this, the reasons are multifold. Here are ten explanations I have been giving to journalists:

1. Rock and Roll is killing my life.
2. The Universe is Expanding.
3. There are too many bands out there, travelling around, singing their songs etc.
4. Too much time spent in 15-passenger vans. According to 20/20, these things flip over.
5. Too many hands to shake, that means germs.
6. Too many dinners at Wendy's.
7. People are dying in Iraq.
8. This is what bands do (with a few exceptions, like R.E.M. and Metallica, and the Rolling Stones). Those bands, however, are multibillion dollar corporations. You don't break that up unless the government forces you to.
9. Hotel Electravision.
10. Time to Quit.

Dean Wareham

There's been quite a bit of talk lately about the new project by Dean Wareham of Luna. As his sideproject with Britta Phillips (also of Luna and UltraBabyFat) took off, the pair set out on a US tour to promote their record, L'Avventura. Now it appears they want to take that one step further with the new release L'Avventura reimagined by Sonic Boom. Sonic Boom is best known for his Spaceman 3 work with Jason Pierce of Spiritualized although he's also worked with the likes of Yo La Tengo and Kevin Shields. According to Jet Set Records, "Every track is a brand-new aural adventure, as Mr. Boom gets deeper into the dream and finds the smoky heart of Britta and Dean's gorgeous compositions." The official release of the record is October 3, but it can be picked up now at various independent record stores across the country.

Indie legend Dean Wareham (ex-Galaxie 500, Luna) has launched himself a new career in the pictures. Or rather will be lauching it when he stars in the upcoming film Piggie (directed by Allison Bagnall who also co-wrote Vincent Gallo's indie classic Buffalo 66). Dean has had nominal roles in a few films before, but Piggie will be his first lead role. The film will be screening June 13 in LA at the Directors' Guild of America. You can also see Dean doing a few live dates around the country with luna bassist Britta Phillips in support of their new album L'Avventura.

A bit of bad news for fans of Dean Wareham: LUNA have been dropped from Elektra Records, on the eve of the scheduled release of their next album. The band, which formed from the ashes of GALAXIE 500, are currently shopping around to secure a new deal. Advance promo copies of the new album HAVE been released, so grab them up while you can.