Before the blogs, there were just the bands-thousands of them-dreaming and streaming in and out of venues across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and even New Jersey. All have been driven by a persistent hope to make their mark on the original machine of hype and birthplace of cool, CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, the nation's first 65-shop stop for all our noise-filled dreams and buzz-band needs.

Every autumn, for five frenzied days, an army of one hundred thousand fans, artists, filmmakers, and industry pros from around the globe swarm city blocks for the chance to discover emergent acts like Black Kids and cutting-edge films like I'm Not There, and to witness the modern heroes such as of Sonic Youth and Michael Moore accent their existing legend.

Headquartered at New York University's Greenwich Village campus, CMJ08 will invade 65+ venues for nightly showcases, screenings, and parties, as well as culture-clashing panels during the day.

Club-hopping is encouraged, sonic overload impossible, discovery inescapable.