Link-O-Rama …

R. Kelly addresses judge, says he doesn’t plan to testify in his own defense – Associated Press

Christie’s to put James Brown items on auction block. Total collection of memorabilia once belonging to the Hardest Working Man In Show Business estimated to be worth about $1 million – Reuters

EMI finally reaches an agreement with XM Satellite Radio over latter’s Pioneer Inno receiver – CNET / News.com

Presidential candidate John McCain trades Chuck Berry for Abba – Telegraph U.K.

The new Dynamic Duo – Jack Johnson and wife Kim hailed as environmental heroes – KEYT

Even though he’s won 14 Grammy’s and is known as one of the best record producers in the biz, if Phil Ramone had a choice, he’d rather play baseball for the New York Yankees – MLB.com

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Our update for Ms. k.d. lang consists of extra Euro dates for summer and some reworking of the previously announced fall shows in the U.S.A. On the Europe side, new dates include July 10 in Berlin; July 17 in Copenhagen, July 19 in Amsterdam and July 28 in Dublin. Other newly added stops include Cologne (July 9), Oslo (July 16), Deurne, Belgium (July 20) and Edinburgh (July 30).

But it’s the fall USA stretch that’s starting to see changes, with the latest update showing the singer appearing in Santa Barbara on October 11, New York on October 27, Santa Fe on November 9 and Oakland on November 15. Yesterday, a fall date scheduled for Portsmouth, NH, was moved to April 26, 2009.

Bill Engvall updates today with new listings for Minnesota, California and Nevada. Stops on Mr. Engvall’s calendar now include Carlton, MN, on October 10; Eureka, CA, on October 11; and Vegas on December 11 & 12.

Cat Power prowls Europe in July. New listings for Chan Marshall include Italy towns Ferrara (July 1) and Bollate (July 2). New France dates are Lyon (July 3) and Belfort (July 4). Sweden shows include Malmo (July 7) and Stockholm (July 9), while Oslo, Norway experiences the artist on July 8.

And we have a couple of new listings for Testament – August 14 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and September 20 in Kawasaki, Japan.

During the last couple of hours we also updated the schedules for Seven Mary Three, Talib Kweli, The Dirtbombs, The Bangkok Five, Rodney Atkins, Keith Anderson, Lez Zeppelin, Ulrich Schnauss, We Are Scientists, Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Idiot Pilot, Ian Shaw, Ignite and Jerry Douglas.

And that’s how things are shaping up at the halfway mark. Don’t miss Your Latest Update, coming up sometime around 3 pm (PDT), from Pollstar.com!

This Day In Music History … (from Associated Press)

In 1966, “Rain,” the flip side of “Paperback Writer,” by the Beatles was released. It was the first record to use reverse tapes. John Lennon said he “just happened to have the tape on the wrong way ’round.”

In 1971, the rock band Jethro Tull and the audience were tear-gassed by police at a Denver concert. Twenty-eight people were treated in hospital, but the show went on.

In 1977, Joe Strummer and Topper Headon of The Clash were arrested in London for spray-painting the group’s name on a subway wall.

In 1989, someone firebombed a McDonald’s restaurant in London two days after Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders advocated such action. Hynde told a news conference launching an all-star album in aid of Greenpeace that people “should petro-bomb McDonald’s.”

In 1991, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin were among the mourners at the Detroit funeral for ex-Temptation David Ruffin. About 25-thousand fans gathered outside the church. Ruffin had died nine days earlier of a drug overdose. Following the service, police arrested another former Temptation, Eddie Kendricks, for not paying nearly $30,000 dollars in alimony.