Is CMJ Dead?

And how should we feel about it?

Not only have I aged out of seeing CMJ shows, I have aged out of being irritated that CMJ is happening, because I am rarely out late anymore and when I am it is not usually in or around the places that CMJ shows tend to occur at. But it turns out that CMJ shows will not tend to occur anywhere, anymore: This extensive Stereogum piece, which you should definitely read, says that CMJ is over.

CMJ Sure Seems To Be Over. So How Come Nobody Is Talking About It?

I’m a little sad. There is nothing worse for a New Yorker than being robbed of things to complain about, particularly things that young people, whose vibrancy and innocence reminds you of just how bitter and faded your own life has become, enthusiastically embrace. Sure, I’ll always have my disdain for the new NYU kids to keep me warm, but even that starts feel hollow the nearer I get to being the same age as many of the parents moving them in. Anyway, CMJ is dead. Read the piece above. There is some further, uh, background available here.

The Magnetic Fields: Live At Town Hall, New York City, March 11, 2010