My CMJ Wednesday began rather inauspiciously since the first band I wanted to see was nowhere to be found five minutes before its scheduled set time. I grumpily left the Alphabet Lounge as I realized I wasted about an hour that could have been spent checking out the Jack White-sponsored Rolling Record Store, which was parked outside Santos Party House throughout the night. Oh well, I guess Mr. White will just have to wait another day for me to blindly throw money at him. - Read Josh S. Johnson full report here - In the picture and streaming, Starred.

Frankly, this first day of CMJ went a billion times better than I expected. What did I expect? To get lost, for sure, having not been in the city that long. To miss half of the bands I'd listed on some meticulous schedule/map scribbled in my notebook the night before. To be drinking far too much. Ok, maybe that did happen. It's one thing I had to learn, I guess: do not say yes to every drink that is handed to you, because people will be handing you PLENTY of them - that's what happens when you run a Marathon right? - Read Tracy Mamoun's full CMJ report here - In the picture and streaming, Foxygen.

The second best thing about the CMJ Music Marathon, after of course the opportunity to see tons of great bands for five straight nights in the greatest city for music, is the process of sorting through the seemingly endless list of bands in order to meticulously plan your personal schedule down to the minute. That feeling of invincibility concerning the laws of time and space is an awful like the one you get when you develop grand plans to start exercising and working out. That brief sensation of euphoria lasts right up to the minute you told yourself you were going to start. Then you realize you already walked something like three flights of stairs that day, so really there’s no need to exercise. - read the full report here. - (in the picture, Blonds)