First, the fun part. Spotting trends at the massive CMJ marathon may be a fool's errand, but here goes: There seemed to be a continuing drift toward dance music, or anything even vaguely danceable. The festival's opening-night party consisted of three differently-flavored dance-rock bands, Holy Hail (quirky), The Presets (brooding) and The Rapture (plaintive yet propulsive). And one of the week's hottest tickets was for the Swedish brother- sister duo The Knife, who filled Webster Hall with darkly melodic techno.

Perhaps as hip-hop and rap continue to grow in popularity, their rhythmic influence is trickling down into unlikely places. Looking at the emo-punk scene, it's clear that rhythm is in. Successful acts such as Cobra Starship and Panic! At the Disco are making emo that's dance-worthy, and others are following suit. At CMJ, the band Love Arcade played gravelly guitars anchored by funk rhythms; a group called Thunderbirds Are Now! (where did we just see an exclamation point?) mixed emo melodies with hyperactive beats.

1) Newsday Photo / Robert Mecea - Adam Baker, right, and Mike Robinson of The Annuals, one of the 1,000 bands at the 26th edition of the CMJ Music Marathon, Getty Images for CMJ Photos - 2) DJ [Gregg Gillis] aka Girl Talk, above, at the Mercury Lounge last week. 3) Right, Luke Jenner of the dance-rock band The Rapture.