NYC dream-pop act, The Meaning of Life, is just as quirky as its name suggests. Citing David Lynch, The Wheel of Fortune, and '60s and '80s pop as their major influences, the group is  making pop music that refuses to take pop so seriously. Earlier this year, they released the full length 'Diamonds & Junk Food,' with tracks that lean towards either pop or shoegaze (listen to their pop sound below). They're different and they know it, but that's what makes them so fun. They'll be playing this Saturday (08.22) at Rough Trade for Pancakes and Whiskey's birthday bash. - Sam O'Hara

Read John McGovern's Diary of his CMJ Music Marathon Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5.

Try as I might, it's not easy to pin down exactly what's going on inside singer/songwriter Marta DeLeon's head. The Meaning of LIfe, the Brooklyn art rock band she fronts, contains such an unexpected mixture of rock's building blocks, that only a video as bizarrely fun as ''Laura V" would do. From directors Jeremiah McVay and Steven Huber, the band creates a world where people get eaten when dates go wrong, and guitarists run around the beach shouting psychedelic wisdom.... just check it out for yourself to see what I mean. Intensely artful, yet easily accessible, singer Marta DeLeon makes us believe in the experience. And pretty soon, you'll be chanting 'like gloves' along with her too. Taken from their just released debut EP 'Play Fuego,' the music is fun, soaring, and surreal all at once.

See them on Sep 27 at Bushwick Shorewave Haus. And check out their new EP 'Play Fuego' here. - Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets).

Those of you that have met singer Marta DeLeon already know it doesn't take long before you feel like you've known her for years. For those of you that haven't met her, this is the feeling you'll get after checking out her new band The Meaning of Life. A three piece made up from the spirit of Jesus and the Mary Chain, The Cult, and pretty much any band that landed on the soundtrack to 'Lost in Translation,' Meaning of Life celebrates the people you meet along your path... and cranks their stories up to a percolated boil. Mixing shimmering gems written by guitarist (and Chilean explorer) Christian Gallardo with Marta's transcendent soprano (and love of cats), newest single Laura V. (off new EP 'Play Fuego') will have you leaping up into the air ready to proclaim the answer to everything... or at least have you leaping up into the air for the hell of it.

See the band when they play with Black Salad and Wojick on October 13, at Fort Useless. - Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)