The Texas-based band Ola Podrida, led by film composer David Wingo, turns up the volume for its upcoming record. Hear the band's new song "Speed Of Light."

New York's annual music blitz, the CMJ Music Marathon is upon us. But with hundreds of bands and tons of showcases and concerts worth seeing, it can be tough to plan your schedule. So to ever-so-slightly ease that burden, we combed over the official (and less-than-official) schedules to pinpoint a few bands we're really excited to check out this year.

The telephone may no longer be our primary means of communication, but it remains a favorite topic for songwriters. 

Every week we are treated to music videos -- professional, amateur or fan-made -- from artists with a new single, or a particularly artful glimpse at a new emerging band. Some are incredibly detailed productions, and some are intimate lo-fi efforts. But it’s possible you might’ve missed a few of them, so here’s a few of our favorites from this past week.

We’ve spent the summer months in the Soundcheck Workshop.  Now it’s time to show you what we’ve been building. 

Brooklyn chamber-pop outfit Clare and The Reasons moved to Berlin to record their latest album, KR-51. We asked band members Clare Manchon and Olivier Manchon five questions about the German city they called home for a time. It's a Brooklynites Guide to Berlin.

After a summerlong hiatus, Soundcheck returns to the WNYC broadcast schedule on Monday, Sept. 17. Catch the show on 93.9 FM in our new evening time slot: Weeknights at 9 p.m. ET.

The Brooklyn by-way-of New Orleans experimental rock band Callers recently performed songs from their forthcoming album, Reviver, live in the studio. Afterwards, we asked band members Ryan Seaton and Sara Lucas a few pressing questions. Read on to find out their favorite crying song, which subway stop is best for insipiration, and what's going to be playing in the van on their tour this fall with Wye Oak.

If you like Korea, horses, and pretty girls, we've got a video for you. If you don't, well, we've still got a video for you: Psy is a chunky but loose-limbed singer/rapper/dancer from Seoul, and his song "Gangnam Style" has been a juggernaut in the world of K-Pop, as the Korean pop music scene is known, for much of the summer.

In the 1970s, hot pants were hot -- until they were not. We get to the bottom of the matter, with a playlist.