The Best Of CMJ 2012 : All Songs Considered As festivals go, it's one of the best for surprises, since so many of the acts are new and emerging. On this edition of All Songs Considered, we look at some of our favorite discoveries.

The Best Of CMJ 2012

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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

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Courtesy of the artists

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.

Songs Featured In This Episode

Cover for Nathan Jones Is Dead

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Ghost Pal

  • Song: Skeleton Dance
  • from Nathan Jones Is Dead
Cover for Butter

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Turbo Fruits

  • Song: Sweet Thang
  • from Butter
Cover for We Are The 21st Century ambassadors Of Peace And Magic

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Foxygen

  • Song: Shuggie
  • from We Are The 21st Century ambassadors Of Peace And Magic
Cover for Making Moves

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Brick + Mortar

  • Song: Bangs
  • from Making Moves
Cover for People Get Ready

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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People Get Ready

  • Song: New June
Cover for The Key Of Sea, Vol. 2

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Jinja Safari

  • Song: Silence Of The Guns
  • from The Key Of Sea, Vol. 2
Cover for Heat Waves

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Brainstorm

  • Song: Beast In the Sky
  • from Heat Waves
Cover for 2

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Mac DeMarco

  • Song: Ode to Viceroy
  • from 2
Cover for Hundred Waters

The Best Of CMJ 2012

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Hundred Waters

  • Song: Visitor