CMJ is Upon Us!
Almost, anyway. The New York City festival–a whopping 27 years old–will see Simian Mobile Disco (pictured above), Jesu, Devin the Dude, Crystal Castles, and a bunch of others invade the stage for five days, from October 16 – 20. Register by August 15 and save, uh, 19% off the $415 price tag for a badge. You do the math.

Rally Up
Continuing his quest to ban the “N-word,” as well as derogatory lyrics about women, from rap songs, Rev. Al Sharptonorganized rallies in over 20 cities on Tuesday, for what he called the “Day of Outrage.” The purpose of the rallies was to pressure music companies (ie. the world’s three giant record labels) to stop releasing music that contains offensive lyrics. Seeing as New York already has legislation on the table regarding this issue, we might be looking at one of the more interesting freedom-of-speech battles to arise in recent memory. 

Justice vs. Kanye: Round 2
Everyone ready to see Justice and Kanye duke it out again for best video at the MTV Awards? Fans will recall last year’s festivities, where Kanye threw a bit of a fit when his million-dollar video lost to the French duo’s “We Are Your Friends.” Remains to be seen if the rotating, technicolor t-shirts on “D.A.N.C.E.” will outdo the megastar’s high-budget production, but here’s hoping, as we just heard about its nomination. 

Ain’t No Party Like a Brooklyn Party…
Brooklynites, be sure to hit the last Daft Punk After Party tonight at Studio B. Sebastian, Kavinsky, The Rapture, and our bro James Friedman are on music duties once again, and if this party is anything like the one XLR8R attended in San Francisco, you’ll be up for days. Also not to be missed: the Trouble and Bass crew will be in the ‘burg on Saturday night, for Trouble and Bass XI, complete with free Sparks. Check it.