New York City native son Mike Del Rio deserves our fame and fortune. Let’s stop rewarding talentless reality TV parasites with recording contracts and pop star treatment. In addition to being absolutely dreamy (note: mass appeal good looks), Del Rio sings, writes his own songs, and plays no less than “guitar, bass, drums, beats, arrangements, brass, synth, mellotrons, bells and whistles, etc.” “The New Year,” a single available for free download, could be the next tween pop anthem. We need pop anthems now more than ever from a young man that loves art, Downtown Brooklyn, and milkshakes. – Read Whitney Phaneuf interview with Mike Del Rio here.

After previous experiments in high-art on Pale Fire – with the title track mixed by Ulrich Schnauss – Dead Leaf Echo have now teamed up with 4AD famed John Fryer to mix "Truth" which was released last week. Fresh off their Deli Magazine CMJ show, DLE continues to tour this year and is planning to release new material soon.

This Fall brings several exciting announcements for New York-bred synth-pop sextet Bellevue’s Finest, as they ended their Summer of Singles with the release of a new music video, a new EP and their first CMJ Showcase. Bellevue’s Finest produces a pop concoction consisting of classic tones taken from the Kinks and David Bowie, and new-school swag borrowed from modern indie artists like Passion Pit and LCD Soundsystem. After releasing a new single for free download each month of the summer, Bellevue’s Finest will be compiling their Summer recordings with a new track,“Wannabe,”to form a self-titled, sophomore EP. The EP will be released digitally with an animated music video for the newest recording on Tuesday, November 23rd. Bellevue’s Finest performed at the CMJ Music Festival in New York City on October 22nd at The National Underground. as part of Turnstyle Music Group’s CMJ Showcase. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

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Every Halloween, Velvet Lounge knows how to throw down.  This year they’ll bring back the legendary Latino punk band The Zeros, who once upon a time played "Beat Your Heart Out" 8 times in a row in San Francisco, then called it a night.  This Halloween they are joined by DC’s The Shirks, Beasts of No Nation, and Maybe Baby.  Beasts have risen fast in the DC hardcore scene since their first show barely two months ago.  But with an incredible line-up consisting of members from notable acts Darkest Hour, Trial by Fire, the Explosion, and Majority Rule, it was inevitable.  They’ll have a 7" out in a few weeks so we’ll check in with them again.  Right now, Maybe Baby’s S/T EP is available through Windian Records, and after this show, they’re hitting the road for a cross country tour. So get dressed up- it’s the Legendary Velvet Lounge Halloween Bash!

Baltimore’s Future Islands returned from a tour abroad last week, having completed some awesome firsts: first show in Greece, and their first show in Spain.   They’ve already embarked on a stateside tour with a record release show coming up at the Black Cat on November 4 (w/ Romantic States). The new 7" split (out on Friends Records) features a new Future Islands song "The Ink Well", written and recorded this summer, with life-long friends Lonnie Walker on the flip (and in the 11/4 line-up).  Earlier this month, Thrill Jockey Records released Undressed, an acoustic EP of their earlier recordings.  Check it out here.

We asked our friend Nora at I Rock I Roll Blog to highlight the best LA band she saw at CMJ this year, here’s her response:

Pepper Rabbit – Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure any band that makes beautiful music and has the word Rabbit in their name is going to elicit some major musical crushing from me. That said, this LA Duo just released a gorgeous album Beauregard on Kanine. These gorgeous songs will make you swoon upon first listen and then somehow haunt you for days later – definitely one of my absolute new faves that people will be talking about a lot next year.

We asked our friend Nora at I Rock I Roll Blog to highlight the best NYC band she saw at CMJ this year, here’s her response:

1. "NYC (via Tacoma, WA) band Oberhofer – I’m pretty sure these guys are all teenagers. Okay I googled and Brad Oberhofer is actually 19. Wow. While discoveries like this sometimes make me question what I did with my life when I was 19, something always wins me over about bands that are so young, polished and so clearly talented beyond their years. Their supercharged pop-rock, which has been garnering praise all over the blogoshpere this year, won over packed crowds throughout the 5 CMJ days (they played 11 shows in 5 days!) and maybe made some of us nostalgic for our younger days too. I call that a big win."

2. Pepper Rabbit – Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure any band that makes beautiful music and has the word Rabbit in their name is going to elicit some major musical crushing from me. That said, this LA Duo just released a gorgeous album Beauregard on Kanine. These gorgeous songs will make you swoon upon first listen and then somehow haunt you for days later – definitely one of my absolute new faves that people will be talking about a lot next year.

3. Kids of 88 – Ok this one is technically cheating because I didn’t ACTUALLY see this band during CMJ due to scheduling, taco time, putting my showcase together, and so on. My disappoint in that epic failure caused me to beg their publicist to at least send me the funky new-wavey New Zealand duo’s debut album Sugarpills and I have not been able to stop listening to it since she kindly obliged. Seriously, "Ribbon of Light" is on my top 10 list for the year for sure – not that new wave pop is a brand new thing, but somehow they make it seem fresh and to me that’s the most important thing. Come back soon, Kids of 88!

Bands that cite the Legendary Pink Dots as influences include The Dresden Dolls, Skinny Puppy and MGMT. Rolling Stone says that they “created some of the most enigmatic and challenging compositions in modern music.” The Legendary Pink Dots are the kind of wildly influential artists that never blew up to über buzz worthy status, but whose fan base is comprised mainly of notable musicians. While most buzz bands go broke during their first tour, The ‘Dots have been doing it since 1980 and have recorded more than 40 albums along the way. They appear this Friday at Les Poisson Rouge amidst their fall tour, in support of their new album "Seconds Late for the Brighton Line" released on ROIR Records. The album is moody and abstract like dozing off in a subway car.

Led by singer/songwriter Edward Ka-Spel and keyboardist/songwriter Phil “Silverman” Knight, the band is currently a quartet as members Niels Van Hoorn & Martijn De Kleer left the group. The ‘Dots blend experimental music of all genres, including punk, goth, neo-psychedelia, krautrock and ambient music; they defy description and have an incredible range of sound, making them hard to pin down to a specific genre. The Legendary Pink Dots play NYC once again this Halloween at Irving Plaza with The Dresden Dolls. – Alex Borsody

We asked our friend Nora at I Rock I Roll Blog to highlight the best NYC band she saw at CMJ this year, here’s her response:

"NYC (via Tacoma, WA) band Oberhofer – I’m pretty sure these guys are all teenagers. Okay I googled and Brad Oberhofer is actually 19. Wow. While discoveries like this sometimes make me question what I did with my life when I was 19, something always wins me over about bands that are so young, polished and so clearly talented beyond their years. Their supercharged pop-rock, which has been garnering praise all over the blogoshpere this year, won over packed crowds throughout the 5 CMJ days (they played 11 shows in 5 days!) and maybe made some of us nostalgic for our younger days too. I call that a big win." – Nora Walker

On Thursday night loungy indie band, Sport of Kings, will headline the pre-pre-pre Halloween show at Cake Shop. The band compares itself to a classy cocktail made of imported spirits with the most exotic elements being "songwriter/singer/guitarist Richard Kelly (imported from Dublin, Ireland)" and "Hong Kong’s tastiest percussion, so strong it’s banned in several American states…by Ian Chang". Each member provides his own punch that mingles well together, producing a sound that’s at once reminiscent of Pavement and The Bird and The Bee. Sport of Kings will let loose and show up in some sort of spooky/crazy get-up and invites everyone who attends to come in a costume (no pressure, though). The show kicks off with a mystery band/artist at 8:00 PM, followed by the DJ styings of Au Revoir Simone’s very own Erika Spring, then powerpop band Strange Shapes, and then of course, Sport of Kings. – Abigail P Devora

We asked our friends writing for NYC music blogs their opinion about the best NYC based artists they saw at CMJ 2010, here’s what the guys at ForTheBeat.com think:

Dominant Legs is one of the best bands we saw all week. First, at the forthebeat/Transparent show at Public Assembly with Ryan Lynch (guitarist of Girls) performing solo and then with the rest of his band at Glasslands on Saturday. The four song EP is on constant repeat for us and Lynch’s voice is mesmerizingly intriguing, to say the least.

Wise Blood was another stand-out.  Pittsburgh native Chris Laufman [a man/band with no decent pics online] seems to have exploded onto the scene since his EP release in May with one of the best we’ve heard all year. His samples and vocals translated surprisingly well at his live performances, backed with his full (and very fun to watch live) band.

Cloud Nothings played some of the best shows all week and rightfully so, fronted by Dylan Baldi, who is just 19, its amazing to see someone accomplish so much at such a young age.

"Hooray For Earth was also a big standout from this year’s CMJ, a band we have seen again and again. Noel has always been an artist to watch, but in just this past year, he has gained everyone’s attention. "True Loves," their new single was one of our favorite songs performed live during CMJ." – Steph and Kristin

We asked our friends writing for NYC music blogs their opinion about the best NYC based artists they saw at CMJ 2010, here’s what the guys at ForTheBeat.com think:
"Hooray For Earth was a big standout from this year’s CMJ, a band we have seen again and again. Noel has always been an artist to watch, but in just this past year, he has gained everyone’s attention. "True Loves," their new single was one of our favorite songs performed live during CMJ." – Steph and Kristin