For me, the entire CMJ experience kept hearkening back to those words, "make it new." Some artists took on that challenge, including Gang Gang Dance, Eskandrian, and even Apples in Stereo (who are always called psychedelic pop throwbacks but, in truth, have picked up where the likes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys left off and taken the style further). But the bands who generated the most buzz, like Tokyo Police Club and Hot Chip, were not in the business of innovation. The "indie" in "indie rock" may as well be short for "industry." It makes me sad to be so down on something that has been so important to me for most of my life, but it must be said. This is what happens when everything comes down to the bottom line. No matter how much I love Pavement or Neutral Milk Hotel, I am not interested in hearing a brand new band that sounds exactly like them. But if CMJ remains an essential fixture of the independent music world, that’s exactly what we’re all going to get — because the Marathon will always feature a Strokes sound-alike over a more original artist; meanwhile, record execs are (understandably) primarily concerned with glomming onto moneymakers. For our part, the vast majority of the music press seems desperate to break the next big, easily likable sensations. After all, our careers, such as they are, are on the line too. With everyone bought and sold, who loses out in the end? Just the listeners and the artists they might have loved but will never discover.