To ease your stress (and ours) we’ve located some diverting news items about NKOTB, MySpace Music, Austin musicians, tribute bands, a Red Hot Chili Pepper going back to school and a royal birthday bash.

And we’ve kept the staff’s minds off their stock portfolios by keeping them busy updating itineraries for AC/DC, Solange Knowles, Tom Morello, Swing Out Sister, Meat Loaf and Walking with Dinosaurs.

Link-O-Rama …

Some fans of New Kids on the Block show the band exactly how much they’ve grown up – CNN.com

So are you loving MySpace Music? Not everyone is apparently – Chicago Tribune

Musicians in the “Live Music Capitol of the World” take care of their own – Dallas Morning News

Can’t afford a ticket to see your favorite artist? Tribute bands are the next best thing. And they’re cheaper – Indianapolis Star

Proving it’s never too late to get that college degree no matter who you are, Flea talks about becoming a frosh at USC – NPR Online

What does the Prince of Wales do when he wants to hire a clown for his 60th birthday? Call up John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and Robin Williams of course – U.K. Times Online

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

Looks like it pays to do business with Wal-Mart. AC/DC has been selling out shows in record time and just dropped a whole new slate of dates. Lucky cities now on the itinerary include Tampa, Fla.; Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Dallas and Nashville.

Call her Solange or call her Miss Knowles. Just don’t ever call her you-know-who’s little sister or you’ll live to regret it. The singer is headed to the U.K. for a handful of dates, with stops in Glasgow, Newcastle, Brighton, Sheffield and Manchester.

Rage Against the Machine, as The Nightwatchman or just as himself, you’ll find him somewhere near a stage and he’s coming to a town near you in November. Especially if you live in San Francisco; Vancouver; Salt Lake City; Boulder, Colo.; Minneapolis, Indianapolis or New York City.

They say you can’t keep Rock ‘n’ Roll down. The same can be said for Meat Loaf, who just keeps going and going. New stops on the iconic rocker’s schedule include Clearwater, Fla.; Youngstown, Ohio; Reading, Penn.; and Temecula, Calif.

For sheer perkiness, it was hard to top Swing Out Sister‘s 1986 hit “Breakout.” While they’ve probably mellowed a little, it’s still a safe bet Andy and Corinne will have U.K. fans dancing in their seats when they hit Manchester, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Worcester, Gateshead, Sheffield and London later this year.

The dinosaurs are coming! The dinosaurs are coming! No it’s not a new Rolling Stones tour, it’s a whole slew of new dates for Walking with Dinosaurs. Round up the kids and get up-close-and-personal with T-Rex and the gang in Des Moines, Iowa; East Rutherford, N.J.; Raleigh, N.C.; Highland Heights, Ky.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Sunrise, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Pittsburgh.

Well that’s it for now. We’ve got to get back into the break room and see how our shares of Rent-a-Yenta and Clowns-R-Us are doing. Be sure to check back around 3pm PST for Your Latest Update!