Middle Distance Runner performs at the CMJ Music Marathon in 2008.
Every CMJ has its success story—the unknown act who, thanks to buzz and grit and talent and luck , tickles the right trigger of the wayfaring label rep or taste-maker who, for whatever reason, has decided to see it. But most of the thousand-plus little-known [...]

For Real Estate's Martin Courtney, returning to his native New Jersey  last summer after graduating from college may have been a regressive move, but it also turned out to be a productive one.
"I almost exclusively hang out with people from high school these days," the singer and guitarist says, echoing that common post-collegiate experience of [...]

D.C.'s newest label—Underwater Peoples—has just made available for download the soundtrack of your spring. The compilation provides the perfect sounds—tropical or otherwise—for Sunday walks in Rock Creek Park or the drive out to Ocean City. Tracklist includes the perfect amount of wistful ambience from Real Estate and Ducktails. You can download it all for free. [...]