Musician, activist, iPod pitchman -- Bono's résumé is already pretty full. But now he's taken on another title: editor. On Tuesday, the U2 frontman served as "guest editor" for British radio station BBC Four's "Today" news program. His responsibilities included assigning beats to writers and lining up guests for the show. Bono chose topics like the relationship between Irish and North African music, combating poverty around the world, and Britain's foreign policy. Guests who contributed pre-recorded commentaries included former President Bill Clinton and a German nun named Sister Benedicta. ...

Guitarist Walter "Hank" Garland, who played with the likes of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison, died on Monday in Orange Park, Florida, of a staph infection, according to The Associated Press. Garland, 74, performed on Elvis singles including "Little Sister" and "Big Hunk O' Love," and had his first million-selling hit at the age of 19 with the country song "Sugar Foot Rag." Garland had been battling illness since 1961 when a car crash put him in a coma for several months. ... Queens of the Stone Age associate Chris Goss, who has produced and played with Queens mastermind Josh Homme's former band Kyuss and various side projects, was rushed to a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California, over the holidays. According to posts on QOTSA.com and MastersOfReality.com (the band Goss fronts), he was suffering from a "severe internal infection" and was listed in critical condition at Eisenhower Medical Center. Over the weekend, though, he recovered and is now "resting comfortably." ...

Ash are going to release a U.S. version of their album Meltdown, already certified gold in the U.K., to coincide with a new "Star Wars" video game called "Republic Commando" that features their song "Clones" as the theme song. Meltdown, due out March 8, was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, System of a Down) to give it more of an "American" sound. "I always think American records sound better sonically," frontman Tim Wheeler said in a statement. "They always seem to have better engineering, better studios, so we wanted to check it out firsthand." The U.S. version will also feature bonus tracks and DVD footage not available on the European full-length. ... Boy George is slated to DJ at WinterFest, an annual gay and lesbian ski week held in Lake Tahoe. The former Culture Club frontman's gig will take place toward the end of the seven-day long WinterFest, on March 12 at the Horizon Casino Resort. ...

12.28.2004

Music ruled on Yahoo! this year. "American Idol" was the most popular online search term in 2004, followed by "Paris Hilton," "Jessica Simpson" and "Britney Spears," according to the year-end numbers from the search engine. "Usher" came in at #7 on the list, two spots under "Harry Potter." ...

The oft-underappreciated "urban Western" genre will soon get a boost from Wyclef Jean and Kurupt when they star alongside "Kill Bill" star David Carradine and "Coach Carter" actor Antwon Tanner in the upcoming film "Click." Helmed by independent filmmaker Jean Claude LaMarre, the flick is set at the end of the Civil War and concerns a group of outlaws who band together to rob the town bank. Some filming will take place in Los Angeles and select pieces in the wardrobe will be provided by trucker-hat masters Von Dutch. The soundtrack to the film will include original tracks by Kurupt and Wyclef. ... While fellow Black Sabbath member Ozzy Osbourne has long been known as the guy who once bit off the head of a live dove, drummer Bill Ward is getting press for being the bird-friendly musician in the group. Ward posted a photograph of "Abraham," a turkey he recently adopted, on his Web site on Monday. ...

Along with some percussion work from the Velvet Underground's Maureen Tucker, the new, as-yet-untitled second Raveonettes album features contributions by Martin Rev of early '80s New York band Suicide and Ronnie Spector of 1960s girl group the Ronettes. The follow-up to 2003's Chain Gang of Love is expected to drop early next year. ... For Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial, expected to begin January 31, California's Santa Barbara County will introduce a new jury-selection system. The "one-step" system eliminates the preliminary mailer generally sent to potential jurors, according to The Associated Press. If jurors did not fill out the mailer, their names would have been removed from the jury lists. Under the new system, 4,000 people will receive jury summons letters for the trial, which will instruct them to appear for jury selection. If the jurors do not respond or appear, they could face a potential fine of $1,500. ...

When you're a multiplatinum singer/songwriter, sometimes you don't need a reason to tour. That seems to be the logic behind Sarah McLachlan's 2005 schedule, which all of a sudden is loaded with tour dates. The Canadian chanteuse will hit the road starting on April 12 in Victoria, British Columbia, and has dates scheduled all the way through June 1 in Halifax, Nova Scotia (she's playing plenty of Stateside gigs in between). McLachlan's last studio album, Afterglow, was released in November of 2003. ...