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The Best Of CMJ 2012

Clockwise from upper left: Hundred Waters, Turbo Fruits, Brick + Mortar, Foxygen, People Get Ready.
Courtesy of the artists
Clockwise from upper left: Hundred Waters, Turbo Fruits, Brick + Mortar, Foxygen, People Get Ready.

Each fall, hundreds of little-known bands descend on New York City for the annual CMJ Music Marathon. As festivals go, it's one of the best for surprises, since so many of the acts are new and emerging. For the artists, it's a chance to be seen and heard and, hopefully, loved. For the rabid music fan or journalist, it's an overwhelming flood of musical discoveries.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, recorded live at the Judson Memorial Church in New York City, host Bob Boilen talks with Thor Slaughter (yes, that's his real name), music director for KWVA radio in Eugene, Ore., and Emmy Black of Bar/None Records. The three share memories of this year's appropriately titled Music Marathon and talk about some of their favorite discoveries, including the trippy, psychedelic group Ghost Pal; the country-tinged garage-rock band Turbo Fruits; and the fantastically named duo Foxygen.

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