Comments on: Idolator Is Wrong – Why a Music Conference Called CMJ Will Affect What You Listen To

By: Lee Frank

Lee Frank — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:03:02 +0000

I also like Fujiya & Miyagi, but thought that overall CMJ was a bit of a letdown. It was my first and I'm sure it'll be my last.

By: Rachel O.

Rachel O. — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:03:48 +0000

I was impressed by Fujiya & Miyagi, as well as the following band, Walter Meego (at Mercury Lounge) – maybe not totally original electro-pop, but really, full of unadulterated fun.

By: Angie

Angie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:25:25 +0000

I feel the same way Bill. That was terrible.

By: caroline

caroline — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:25:01 +0000

I think this post – which mentions a few of this year’s CMJ bands – adds an interesting new element to things.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/node/146962

By: Miguel

Miguel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:07:57 +0000

It’s all about School of Seven Bells. Seriously.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:44:44 +0000

I’m still heart-broken about the two-song Death Vessel set at The Studio @ Webster. Sure, Jealous Girlfriends and Miles Benjamin were dope, but I was really there to see Joel. I guess there was some kind of Vice metal party starting, but c’mon! I was crushed.

By: Andrew Phillips

Andrew Phillips — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:10:40 +0000

Thanks S. I appreciate your point, but I think it is on some level taken as read: of course deep diggers will find it useful to get a list of up-and-coming bands and see lots of coverage. I certainly do. But, sadly, most only care about next week’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL. Does that mean we shouldn’t cover CMJ or the underground? Hell no. But it does means we should cover it smarter.

Before I lived in New York, I did just what you’re saying, scoured summation pieces for the names of bands to learn more about (I still do, but now I’m searching publications in Sweden). I think the problem is, the majority of coverage doesn’t help you do that. It’s bloated and self-serving. Look at Pitchfork’s, for example: each day each writer did a long update about their wanderings. To get that filtered list of lesser-known bands to learn about (the thing you really want), you have to cycle though, what, maybe 18 posts, 8,000 words, and 500 pictures over the course of 5 days. That takes a lot of dedication. Why make you do all that when they could have just done a smaller piece that told you about 15 or so of the best under-the-radar bands after it was all over? Or, if you’re a pub tailored to deep diggers, how about 40? The point is, we could keep it a lot more condensed.

I wanted to do that here actually, but after 5 days of intense coverage by other folks, everyone’s too exhausted to care.

As far as Lykke Li being the best, it’s all subjective and even if you could see everything, taste ultimately dictates what gets declared the best.

By: s

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:15:48 +0000

I’m terribly disappointed that this post leaves the question raised in its title unanswered; I won’t take “a good indicator of who is destined for mainstream success or sure to pop up in the background on next week’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL” for an illuminating point. If by “mainstream success” you mean some sort of a mass appeal, then there is a certain kind of really good music that the masses (even small ones) will never quite fall in love with, so I find that to be a useless measure of quality. I wonder why in this post and Idolator’s, there isn’t much interest in the most obvious answer: that by either attending or reading about some of these showcases, which feature a ton of lesser-known bands of a certain caliber, you just might just come upon music that will interweave with a good part of your life. After all, and regardless of where you live, the list of bands that play small venues in New York City every night does for a whole year what CMJ magnifies and condenses in a few days: expose you to new and promising bands.

Personally, I was disappointed that a few big names (like Broken Social Scene) were involved; the inclusion of bands that reached their peak more than a year ago seems to go against the spirit of the marathon, but to be fair, CMJ does provide such bands, especially those that aren’t from here, a “no question asked” excuse to just play; as for smaller bands that qualify and travel from elsewhere, it gives them the chance to book several shows and make the best of their traveling costs, and it gives us the listeners a bigger likelihood of catching at least one of these bands.

As for Lykke Li’s being the best set: unless someone saw every band who played, it remains disputable and unprovable. In any case, I’d rather not see someone like Lykke Li during CMJ week since she’s the sort of artist who can afford to return for a New York anytime she wants.

By: manex

manex — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:21:56 +0000

Good way to put it Andrew!
French Horn Rebellion – http://www.myspace.com/frenchhornrebellion

By: Myla

Myla — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:33:17 +0000

Is Lykke Li really that unknown? Girl is selling out shows all over the place! In a few months time she’ll be the featured video on MTV. Or is she already? Do they even play music videos on MTV anymore? I don’t have cable television.