Essential Shows--No excuses. Get off the Lazy Boy and go hear some music.

Wynton Marsalis Quintet members share the road and the music

Soon after being hired by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, saxophonist Walter Blanding, a green kid at the time, got a glimpse into the bandleader’s heart.

Anti-Prozac Party

Undo years of therapy this Saturday, Nov. 4, at The Compound (3206 San Mateo NE) with a masochistic megadose of progressive death metal. You'll be introduced to Albuquerque's Last House on the Left in all their machine-gun drum-, gremlin-burp-glory, as they release their debut album, The Road Leads to Nowhere. They'll be joined by all their creepy friends; Last Fifteen, Code of the Zodiac, HATEengine and Torture Victim. Doors open at 7 p.m., cover is $5. (LM)

The Velvet Teen is big in Japan and, perhaps soon, Albuquerque as well

Ranking among the best indie rock records of recent memory is one you may never hear, by a band that remains mostly unknown. Santa Rosa, Calif.,-based group The Velvet Teen released Cum Laude a few months ago, though it barely made a blip on the radar. The reviews have been favorable but few. Nevertheless, the album is a staggeringly ambitious effort.

Emcee keeps it fresh—and weird

Pigeon John's favorite character on "The Office" is Michael Scott. He even thinks he's a little bit like him. "He's just a weird boss guy who's trying to be cool and friendly with everyone, but he can't fit in because he's freaking weird," Pigeon John says. "He cries when he's alone."

Wax Tracks