$$$!!!… (Ke$ha, Chk Chk Chk, and …Trail of Dead)

Oh, god, I don't even know why I love Ke$ha. The first time I heard "Tik Tok" from her debut album Animal, I had to stop and ask "who IS THIS?". After investigating/hearing more of her music, I thought her music was very good for a popstar.

Recently Ke$ha took over MTV to premiere her latest single, "Crazy Kids", featuring will.i.am as well as the season finale of her hit docu-series, "Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life". I don't have MTV, but I'm sure it lives up to her crazy/hectic lifestyle. You can watch the video online at kesha.mtv.tv.

Also, Ke$ha just kicked off a co-headlining North American Summer Tour with Pitbull. The tour is in support of her new album, Warrior, which came out late November of last year on Kemosabe, RCA. Although it just came out, there's talk of a new upcoming album for 2013 called Lipsha (which I am assuming will be titled "Lip$ha"?), because it will be a collaboration with The Flaming Lips and Kesha (get it? Lips-Sha?)

Anyway, all current tour tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

05/31/13 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center 06/01/13 Wantagh, NY Nikon At Jones 06/02/13 Burgettstown, PA First Niagara 06/04/13 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 06/05/13 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amp 06/07/13 Auburn Hills, MI Palace Of Auburn Hills 06/09/13 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amph 06/11/13 Englewood, CO Fiddler's Green 06/14/13 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amph 06/15/13 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden 06/16/13 Chula Vista, CA Sleep Train Amph 06/18/13 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl 06/20/13 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amph 06/22/13 Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell

06/23/13 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion 06/24/13 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center 06/28/13 Tampa, FL MidFlorida 07/05/13 Rock Werchter Festival 07/12/13 Wireless Festival 07/13/13 T In The Park 07/15/13 London, UK O2 Academy Brixton 07/21/13 Vodafone Istanbul Calling 08/09/13 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion At Nautica 08/10/13 Bethlehem Musikfest 08/12/13 Vienna, VA Filene Center At Wolf Trap 08/14/13 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheatre 08/15/13 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable 08/17/13 Illinois State Fair 08/19/13 Saint Paul, MN Myth

I've seen !!! (chk chk chk) a handful of times, ranging from the 2001-2004 time period. Those years I was all about the resurgence of electro dance music. I have always been a fan of disco, and the dance music coming out then was about as close to the disco sound as I could imagine. I admit !!! (chk chk chk) has fallen off my radar since around 2004, even knowing they have released several albums since then.

Seeing they were touring through here ignited that old spark of my love for disco-y dance music, so I started seeking out their new songs to see if they lived up to my expectations. The first one I listened to "One Boy/One Girl" had me hooked from the very beginning. It's so infectiously danceable and fun that I know their upcoming show at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on Friday, June 7 is going to be a blast. Their stage presence is so energetic and infectious that those who usually don't dance will have no choice but to join in.

Also of note, there is a contest to be able to join them on stage to sing backup vocals and dance around to the song "One Boy/One Girl". If you're interested, here is a link to the music and lyrics. Send either a Youtube video or mp3 of you singing along to singwithchk[a]gmail.com.

!!! (chk chk chk) is touring in support of their brand new album Thr!!!er, which you'll be able to pick up a copy at the Fine Line Music Cafe. If you're not in Minneapolis, they also are appearing on the west coast, midwest and east coast. Check sidebar for the additional dates.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 day of and can be found here.

The world's most annoying band name (…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead) just announced their Summer US headlining dates.

Personally, I thought … Trail of Dead was, well, dead? It's been a long time since I heard from the band, and recently, with the new LVMRKS band (featuring former bassist Neil Busch), I thought they were gone for good.

Not so. Apparently with the help of Pledge Music, the band will be releasing Tao Of The Dead Part III EP, with a pending release date of September 24th, 2013. No artwork is given, so the artwork I'm using here is from their previous album, Lost Songs.

Tour to kick off this July with Ume: