2011 CMJ Music Marathon Kicks Off Today

Yes, it does! The 2011 CMJ Music Marathon kicks off at noon.

That annual unwieldy explosion of live music known as the CMJ Music Marathon kicks off today, and in all there will be more than 1,000 bands playing between now and the end of the festival on Oct. 22nd. How to find out what to see amid all those offerings? One way is to check out the picks of various critics and publications (see some selections after the photo), and decide what sounds interesting to you (and which gigs you can get to, dashing between various far-flung venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn).

If you want to just plunge into the massive listings, see the CMJ Music home page here, view the CMJ daily music showcase schedule, or search the CMJ site for artists, venues, or tags. You can also get an official CMJ 2011 smartphone app. And don't forget to download CMJ's 19-song sampler playlist.

Puerto Rico's Davila 666 (shown here at 4 Knots) plays the Knitting Factory Wed.

Here are some guides to help you choose what to see at CMJ:

• Spin offers "30 Can't-Miss Acts at CMJ 2011" (annoyingly presented in one-band-per-webpage format). Among their picks: Pujol, King Krule, Davila 666, Jacuzzi Boys, Machine Gun Kelly, and Stepkids. (Download Spin's free 20-track CMJ 2011 mixtape)
  
  
• NPR Music offers a stream of selections from this year's CMJ bands, with songs by acts including Balkans, Capybara, Davila 666, Dum Dum Girls, Neon Indian, Peelander-Z, Portual. The Man, Shonen Knife, We are Augustines, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Wild Flag.
  
  
• Brooklyn Vegan will have frequently updated coverage of CMJ 2011; currently you can checkout its picks for the daytime Tuesday shows (most, if not all, are free). Brooklyn Vegan is also sponsoring its own CMJ showcase once again.
  
  
• TimeOut New York has a CMJ 2011 guide with tips on how to get the most out of the festival, staff picks for the best shows to see, and photos from the gigs.
  
  
• NYCGO.com offers its own day-by-day list of recommended CMJ acts, along with a guide to CMJ venues throughout the City. Among its choices: Shonen Knife, Titus Andronicus, and Wild Flag (all playing tonight), as well as The Wombats, Metronomy, CSS, and Dum Dum Girls.

As for me, I'll be taking in Wild Flag and Eleanor Friedberger tonight at Bowery Ballroom and just winging it after that. I'm hoping to see The Duke Spirit in a daytime show tomorrow, and at least one show on the 22nd: CSS, Peelander-Z, or Shonen Knife.

If you're going to CMJ 2011, what acts are you going to see?