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For the past three decades, artists from U2 to R.E.M., and yes, even the Black Eyed Peas and Eminem have descended upon New York City during the autumn months for what is known as CMJ. For those who may be unaware, CMJ stands for College Music Journal, and starting in 1980, the weekly industry publication has held a multi-day gathering in Manhattan and Brooklyn for the sheer purpose of showcasing emerging musical talent to the music industry. Since we here at Myspace have descended upon the Big Apple for this year’s CMJ, hoping to uncover the next ‘big thing’ in the music world, we thought we’d take a trip back in time and revisit some of the recent bands that have broken out during this incredible week of music madness.
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The Arcade Fire (2004)
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These days, you’d be hard pressed to come across even the most pop-centric music fan who hasn’t at least heard of this Canadian indie crew; after all, they stole the Grammy limelight last spring by snatching Album of the Year honors. But back in 2004, when they were just a fledgling indie crew, it was CMJ that provided the launching pad for their eventual industry accession. “No one in the mainstream media really had much of an idea of who Arcade Fire were at the time,” their former publicist Martin Hall recently told SPIN. Their breakout debut, Funeral, had been released only a week or two before CMJ, and that proved enough–along with highly credible reviews– to clue industry insiders that something special was just getting started.
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Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Arcade Fire | Myspace Video
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Black Kids (2007)
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Synthpop is everywhere these days. But back in 2007, when this Jacksonville, Florida five-piece rolled into CMJ, they were, in many ways, jolting this now- commonplace avenue of indie music back to life. On the heels of their demo EP, Wizard of Ahhs (released on Myspace, of course), Black Kids came to CMJ only to walk out with outlets from the New York Times to Rolling Stone hailing them as a band on the rise. Their show CMJ wasn’t particularly successful from a technical standpoint– equipment malfunctions and such being the case– but, as Matador Records’ publicist Nil Bernstein told SPIN, “the timing” for their CMJ gigs “couldn’t have been better.”
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Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)
Black Kids | Myspace Video
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Chairlift (2007)
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Their breakout single “Brusies,” featured in an iPod nano ad a year later would solidify them as a band on the move, but CMJ 2007 was when this NYC electropop band began making waves. Frontlady Caroline Plachek’s wailing falsetto seeped out from the clubs that Chairlift were slowly overtaking that week, and while it would prove to be a few months before they truly lifted off (pun definitely intended), it was CMJ 2007 that got people talking about Chairlift.
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Bruises
CHAIRLIFT | Myspace Video
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Surfer Blood (2009)
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As is frequently the case at Austin’s quite-similar South By Southwest, one major key to getting a band buzzing at CMJ is repetition. By this, we mean a band has to play a lot of shows. For Florida’s Sufer Blood, CMJ 2009 was a marathon: they played double-digit gigs, and thanks to advances of their upcoming album hitting the streets right before the fest, word was already out that they were a band to watch. “It was just the right combo of the the music being super-catchy, the band being young, and playing a ton of shows that week,” the band’s publicist Christine Morales told SPIN. ” As Stereogum’s editor Amrit Singh added, “play as many fucking times as possible.” Amen.
