• Devon Banks
• It looks fun, but is it fun enough?

We look forward to the CMJ Music Marathon all year, but then it comes around and we get tired and complain. Three late nights in a row is way too many late nights and despite how much we may love live music the absolute last thing we want to do is go back out for another round of shows this evening. But ugh, it’s Friday, and the weekend is when the festival really picks up. Alas, we have no choice but to scrounge up some semblance of a second wind, which is why we’re dipping into our iTunes libraries to see what some of our favorites have had to say about the phenomenon that is the live music experience. Recorded music is one thing, but live music is immediate, vibrant and unpredictable. As far as momentous occasions go it really doesn’t get much better than a good concert, and we don’t want to miss whatever momentous occasions might be out there this weekend just because we didn’t get enough beauty sleep. So let’s take a listen, pump ourselves up and remind ourselves why a little exhaustion is a small price to pay for a week’s worth of this kind of fun.

• You’re so square! (Baby, I don’t care!)

Happy Birthday, Buddy Holly! Seventy-six years ago today, Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly—the first tall, lanky, bespectacled musician to steal my heart—was born. He’s sometimes credited as “The Father of Rock and Roll,” and while this is almost certainly an exaggeration, he at least helped to popularize the genre and his influence on modern music is enormous. Nearly every hugely successful musician in the second half of the 20th century credits Buddy Holly as an influence if not a childhood idol. There are a million reasons to celebrate his birthday. Here are nine of our favorites. (Don’t worry, none of them are Don McClean’s “American Pie.” We fucking hate that song.)

Ah, Labor Day Weekend: America’s last chance to do summer right: it may have been introduced by labor unions during the Industrial Revolution, but these days the holiday is mostly just an excuse to throw one final barbecue. Here at The L we take barbecues very seriously, and everyone knows a good party needs an even better playlist. So we made this one. Remember, these songs are not just the soundtrack to your day drinking. These are 13 songs that celebrate our working class heroes and to commemorate the blood, sweat and tears that exemplify the working condition. Also, there’s Loverboy and Cam’ron. So go forth! Enjoy your Labor Day. Wear every piece of white clothing you own (before it’s too late!) And above all, don’t work too hard.