November 2006 marked my eleventh (YES!) trip to the annual CMJ Music Marathon, and as always the rock was brought.  Highlights were many, but here’s a brief rundown: The sold-out Knife show was packed to the gills with hipsters, as was the Cold War Kids at the Bowery Ballroom. Although I missed the best named band ever (Duran Duran Duran), I did manage to catch the sold-out Shins show that night which had the entire sweaty crowd singing along. Caught a panel with my dear friend, Bug Music’s Mara Schwartz, on TV Synching 101, and rocked it every night at the Vice Party and the Pure Volume Loft, which was a new addition this year, and a favorite to me since it was two blocks from my hotel the SoHo Grand, and featured unlimited Red Bulls…NICE!  Saw the Black Keys rip it at the Nokia Theater. They seem to have taken up many of Phish’s fans. Took a train to Brooklyn for the AAM Party at North 6 where I caught a brief set by Portastatic and chatted with many friends. I later caught a brief few minutes with Live 105’s Aaron Axelson at his radio panel. It really WAS only a few minutes as he kindly talked to EVERYONE who came up to him after the panel. He's a great guy like that. Caught up with the crew at We Put Out Records at their showcase where I saw a kick-ass set by their stars Patent Pending. Thats's a great label! In their first official year they've cumulatively sold over 100,000 records. Not too shabby! Later that night I hit the Narnack Records showcase where I saw the Chuck P from Indie 103 recommended The Oshees (who were like an indie rock version of Nancy Sinatra!) and my Manchurian buddies the Fall. (Who have “Blindness” from the recent killer LP “Heads Roll” featured in a current Mitsubishi Commercial!) And, as if there wasn't enough rock already, late after midnight on the last night of the festival I caught a packed sweaty show by hip hop greats The Clipse.   All told, another successful CMJ!...And, since no one can ever get too much New York, I flew back to the Big Apple in December for the Radio Tag Holiday party. New York hotspot APT was ablaze with cocktails and laughter. Awee yeah!  While in New York I took the opportunity to attend the premiere of Popscene SF's monthly NYC residency.  Big ups to Jeremy Goldstein and the Popscene crew for spinning the killer jams. Here's hoping everyone out there has a safe and Happy Holiday season!