If exposure is the reason that the College Music Journalism Marathon takes over every single venue in the city each October, then there's no reason to see bands you already know are good. Bands like Cold Cave, The Atlas Sound, Deer Tick, or Ted Leo + The Pharmacists have gotten enough attention so far. Instead, here's a list of shows that basically explain why CMJ was invented.

1. Duchess Says (Montreal) - Singer Annie-Claude Deschênes wears a hockey goalie mask while performing, barking like Stasi commander above a din of guitar shreds and deep synth. Perversely anthemic, in the way Joy Division is. Thursday, October 22, Santos' Party House, 12am.

Jack Dakin and Corbin Plays are two Northern California Bay boys who came to New York City to create lounges and restaurants that combine functional design with the cool factor. They ended up working for the likes of Serge Becker, Sean MacPherson, and Eric Goode and on venues such as: Joe's Pub, The Bowery Hotel, Jane Hotel Ballroom, The Park, Dirty Disco, and Duke & Duchess. The duo plans to soon branch out to New Orleans, Dallas, and Philadelphia. We caught up with them before their national invasion.

Major Music - Mixing a powerful combination of funky dance, bluesy rock, and urban pop, add in beyond-energetic live performances with a powerful fashion sense that references everything from old school punk to The Guardian Angels and fierce fast food fashion finds, and you have Farrad. His new CD is called The Time Is Now, and the song to catch first is "The Way U Do." If you are not dancing your butt off within the first few seconds, you simply have no soul. Zipper harness by Sohung Designs.

Misstress Formika Jones is a formidable player who I have had the pleasure and pain of working with for many years. She pushes the envelope and the limits of those around her. This is basically what a dominatrix is paid for, so the name is kind of perfect. There are few out there in nightlife pushing limits -- few see the need. In the last six months there has been a burst of envelope-pushing parties, and nightlife -- for so long buried under the ashes of persecution -- is sprouting once again. The scene has spread from the megaclubs to hundreds of undiscovered little joints around town. While I sit here, a trial is taking place for the survival of one of the last remaining mega-clubs. Pacha is fighting for its life in a courtroom where reason and logic must prevail, or else we are all moving to LA. It seems strange that Pacha exists in 25 cities worldwide, yet New York can't handle it. Misstress Formika Jones is one of the last remaining links to a happier more creative and inclusive time, and I celebrate her.

Only once every decade, at best, does an artist come around who epitomizes the age-old adage, “too cool for school.” Just try and take your eyes off the edgy and alluring front-woman at a Lissy Trullie concert, we dare you. Bringing fans her rock-that-is-not-so-much-rock sound and her new stint touring the States and Europe, audiences around the world will be wiping drool from their gaping mouths once they get a glimpse at this young, waify performer. Here she is taking our pop quiz.

I like Sweden -- a lot. Including most of its exports: Ikea, The Sounds, WESC, Peter Bjorn and John, Björn Borg, Peter Forsberg, Henrik Lundqvist, and a musical-gem I recently came across, The Legends. Despite the plurality, there's actually only one person in the band who writes and records all songs, and his name is Johan Angergård. The Legends came out with a new album last week, Over and Over, and Johan has been in New York doing what he calls “a New York tour of concert dates."

The mindset in New York is changing rapidly; we are venturing into a strange time of transition. In the minds of many, the economic downturn this winter evaporated with the new sunlight of these warm spring days. Yet I hear a little voice in my head saying, “not so fast, not so fast.” High-end folks with high-paying jobs are making the same loot they did last year but are reluctant to shell out big bucks for summer rentals and big vacations because their savings and investments have lost so much value. Las May 12, the Dow was at 12,867. Yesterday it closed at 8,469. The upswing in the last couple months certainly has been as refreshing as those warm spring winds, but the reality of loss is keeping the checkbooks semi-closed. Reports of the worst Hamptons and Jersey Shore real estate markets are everywhere, with an unheard-of short-season market developing. People have been renting for a month instead of a season. Yet, in the last two weeks things have improved, and there are signs that maybe it will be OK after all.

Last night, in honor of the legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones and the 25th anniversary of the Arnie Zane Dance Company, a gaggle of limber dancers, artsy types (including Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy), and the one-and-only Moby turned out to cut a rug at Chinatown hotspot Santos' Party House. Musical guests included Chin Chin and Arthur Aviles with a short DJ set by Moby himself to properly end a genuinely good evening. We caught up with Moby for a hot second to talk about his new album and more.

Terry Casey’s Le Royale is a serious attempt to have a club that's both musically and socially relevant. If you start with the premise that a 1Oak or a Kiss & Fly or Tenjune cater to a mostly musically ignorant crowd, while the Santos' Party House, Pacha, and Cielo seek musical nirvana, then Le Royale leans towards the latter. The DJs at the former clubs and their ilk offer up sets of music cloned from basically the same Serato. I just don’t think a really cool crowd wants to hear Kanye West, Beyonce, or crooker crap anymore.

Former Brooklyn residents and Golden Animals duo Tommy Eisner and Linda Beecroft happily swapped their spots in the too-hot-to-trot Williamsburg scene two years ago and trekked cross-country to the isolated deserts of SoCal in search of the organic space to nurture their 60s blues and rock ‘n roll-inspired music. A few months in the desert sun has resulted in their psychedelic debut LP (Free Your Mind and Win a Pony), the group’s first cross-country tour, and no sign of a return to the East Coast.