A great barometer for the future of rock 'n' roll is undoubtably the yearly CMJ Music Marathon that takes place every October in NYC. Usually filled with more talent than you can shake a drumstick at, the tightly packed week can often have one's head-spinning in awe of all the tasty musical offerings being served up by the promoters. But after the week that was this past year, only one thing came to mind when all was said and done: thank god for The Fever. Their performance at the Etnies CMJ party made up for the lack of exciting new bands that for the most part littered the CMJ 2003 schedule. They blasted through songs off their EP Pink on Pink and had a crowd that was slowly getting wasted off of free beer and vodka appear to be enjoying the music (which was something else seemingly lacking throughout the rest of the week). But with the alcohol freely flowing during the 4-day long event, it also seemed like most show-goers were more excited about the nightly parties than they were about the bands.	Jet at the Coral Room
One question we asked during the Marathon was, "Whatever happened to showmanship?" Most of the acts we saw appeared to be either really nervous or just plain bored onstage. Even Jet, whose album is full of good time party music, prefer to stare down at their guitars rather than having a mess of fun while performing (they should take cues from the hard dancing silhouettes on the IPod commercial that uses their song). However, if you could keep awake long enough between the emos and the shoegazers, there were some signs of life and so we've hand-picked our favorites whom we think are worthy of your hard-earned dollar. And while it may be hard to top the success of CMJ 2002 graduates like Hot Hot Heat, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Junior Senior, we believe that the following acts are up for the challenge. Who? The Constantines Whereabouts? Guelph, Ontario, Canada What about them? Think Fugazi or Jawbox with gruffer vocals and a slightly foreboding stage presence that builds the electricity in the room until everyone you’re with starts turning to each other saying the same thing: “Man, these guys are really good!” Web: Constantines.ca Who? The Cuts Whereabouts? Oakland, California What about them? They play well-crafted melodic vintage rock with swirling guitars and solid organ grinding (like-minded 70's rockers Jet should pay close to attention to them). Web: BirdmanRecords.com/TheCuts.html Who? Everybody Else Whereabouts? Los Angeles, Cailifornia What about them? Former Push Kings singer Carrick Moore Gerety fronts this trio who create tight catchy guitar pop that recalls 80's stars like Squeeze and Rick Springfield (yes, Rick Springfield!). Web: Everybody-Else.com