Music News: Top Pop Tours of 2008, U2 to Tour Early 2009, and More

2008 may be nearing its end, but there's no shortage of music news this week:

* Top tours: New Jersey may get no respect from a lot of people, but its rock stars ruled the roost in terms of chart-topping tours in 2008. Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen had the top-grossing tours of the year, with Madonna and The Police taking the third and fourth spots.

* New U2 album: The Irish rockers show no signs of slowing down. There will be a new U2 album coming out in early March 2009, their record label says. The CD will be called "No Line On The Horizon," and you can bet there will be a world tour to support it.

* Coal in the music industry's Christmas stocking: It's shaping up to be another blue Christmas for music labels and retailers. Billboard reports that music sales were down nearly 22% in the first week of December compared to the same period last year. CD sales continue to drop, although it's noted that "hit albums are selling better this year than last."

* ... And in the odd news department: Headbanging is bad for your metal health: Australian study finds that music fans who engage in headbanging risk serious head and neck injury ... Miley Cyrus has been hired to perform at a Houston law firm's holiday party. She and her posse will get $1 million for the gig, but the party will benefit a charity ... rapper 50 Cent was spotted having a kind of car trouble in London recently: he locked the keys to his Rolls Royce inside the car. Don't you hate when that happens?

Pylon Returns to New York - Knitting Factory Gig 12/15

I wouldn't call it a reunion tour yet, but legendary Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon has been playing out more and more in recent months. Most of the gigs were around the band's home base in the South, but they've also played shows in L.A. and San Francisco, but now they've added a New York City show tonight, Dec. 15th, at the Knitting Factory.

As with some of the previous shows, Pylon is one of a number of bands on the bill, though it would seem the highly influential rockers are the prime attraction of tonight's show (info and tickets), which is a celebration of the 35th anniversary of radio station WNYU. Also on the bill are Psychic Paramount, Christmas Decorations, Halflings, Grouper, Ehnahre, Zola Jesus, and Starkey.

I remember seeing Pylon play a great show at Maxwell's in Hoboken back in the early 1980s, and have a copy of their LP "Chomp" around my apartment (somewhere)...

Pylon reissued a remastered and expanded version of its debut album, "Gyrate," last year.

An interview Pylon did with the Village Voice sheds light on the band's history, and also includes a free download of the band's classic song "Cool."

Eight Great Green Gadgets for Holiday Giving

Electronics and other gadgets are top items for gift giving, and the blog CleanTechnica has a page on the best "green gadgets" to put in someone's stocking (or a box). CleanTechnica, a part of the organization Green Options, shows items including a solar-paneled backpack, a power strip/surge suppressor that supposedly tells you how efficient your electrical devices are, a wind-powered cell phone charger, a water-powered clock, and more.

There are other ways to "green" your shopping for the holiday season (or any season); Apple claims its new MacBook and MacBook Pro computers are some of the most environment-friendly ever made, from an aluminum case to fewer toxic ingredients.

The Beatles' White Album 40 Years Later

Yes, it's really been 40 years since the Beatles issues their landmark White Album (almost exactly--the record came out in November 1968) and NPR's All Songs Considered takes an interesting look back at how this seminal record came to be.

It looks at the band's trip to India [to record the album] andf the many disparate factors at work during the White Album's creation, from the band's impending collapse to disputes with the Maharishi Yogi to oddities such as some band members' unhappiness with the food.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Bruce Spizer, author of The Beatles on Apple Records, in a one-hour conversation about the White Album. The podcast features a number of excerpts from demo sessions for the album, including some unreleased tracks. You can download the podcast or stream the show online, and also check out other Beatles-related podcasts on the site.

Odetta, Folksinger and Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 77

Odetta Holmes, the black folksinger who was a civil rights activist for decades, has died at the age of 77. She passed away at Lenox HIll Hospital in New York. Although she was classically trained, Odetta (who performed using only her first name), sang in the blues, folk, and gospel genres.

The L.A. Times has a good article on Odetta, and notes that she was cited as an influence on performers ranging from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez to Janis Joplin and Tracy Chapman.

Farewell, Odetta. You will be very much missed.

Annie Lennox Gets American Music Award Honor; Will Release First Solo Career Collection

Annie Lennox won the Award of Merit at the 2008 American Music Awards last night, and reminded us anew of why she is one of the most successful British female singers ever. With that reminder, both and new Lennox fans will be happy that she will be releasing her first-ever solo career retrospective set, entitled The Annie Lennox Collection, in February 2009.

The Scottish-born singer first broke onto the music scene as half of the 1980s duo The Eurythmics (with Dave Stewart), starting with their haunting single "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", which featured an odd and quirky video that was in heavy rotation on MTV.

The Annie Lennox Collection is the first such CD of the singer's solo work. Although it spans her 15-year solo career, the bad news is that it contains only 14 songs... not nearly enough, to me, to capture the many songs and stylings Lennox has pursued in that time. The set includes songs from all of Annie Lennox's solo albums: Diva, Medusa, Bare, and Songs of Mass Destruction. The set will also include two new songs.

The Collection is also said to be available in a "deluxe" edition with a CD and DVD (presumably containing live performances or music videos, or both).