Greil Marcus is one of the deans of what we consider music writing these days, so when he recommends something it holds some weight. He's doing a column for Barnes & Noble (among other things these days) called the Real Life Rock Top Ten, which is more or less a list of stuff he likes. Somehow we missed it, but last week, among an episode of "The Good Wife" and a dry cleaning place in St. Paul, Minnesota was our very own Billy Sedlmayr:

Billy Sedlmayr “Charmed Life” (Fell City). Once Sedlmayr was everywhere in the Tucson punk scene; then for long years he was nowhere. This is his first solo album: a True Detective soundtrack after the fact. The case blows up with “Grapes in My Garden.”

It's a great album. I imagine Zia has it (right?), but get your hands on a copy before the year is through.

Looking for something to do on Thursday, December 4? Well, if you want to save a buck (or $46), then you might want to jump on the opportunity to snag some free tickets to Keller Williams with The Motet at Rialto Theatre. We have two pair of tickets will be given away and all you have to do is sign up with your e-mail on our fancy Free Stuff page for your chance to win (though next time we're probably going to make you wear a silly hat or something).



The winners will be chosen ay 4 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3 so you have approximately 24 hours to enter starting... now!

If you don't win and you still want to catch the show, tickets are available through the Rialto Theatre for $23. The all ages show begins at 8:30 p.m. with doors opening at 7:30 p.m.

I'm gonna blame this on the schools. Whenever things happen with kids, no matter what it is, people like to say it's the schools' fault, so I might as well follow suit. I guess I've got to give a share of the blame to all the sex and violence in the media too — you name it, TV, movies, music (especially rap!), video games. They're so far over the top these days, it's gotta be affecting the kids! Oh, and don't forget parenting. You can't let the parents off the hook for their kids' behavior either.

For example, we've got to blame schools, media and parents for the rate of violence among youth these days. According to a recent op ed in the Star,

. . . arrests for serious violent offenses by juveniles have dropped about 60 percent from 1994 to 2011. Juvenile arrests have receded faster in the past 10 years than adult arrests. Property crime by youth also has sunk to its lowest point in 30 years.

Wait, what? You mean kids today are less violent than they were 20 years ago? That's not the impression I get from the media, or from adults complaining about "Kids nowadays!"

OK, but things have got to be worse in other areas, like bullying, teen pregnancy, drinking. Right?

. . . peer victimization, harassment and bullying — despite their ubiquity — have been abating in almost all of the surveys. Suicide, too, is less common.

[snip]

Not only is the rate of teenage pregnancy down to record lows in the United States, but the percentage of ninth-graders who say they have had sexual intercourse has declined from 54 percent in 1991 to 47 percent in 2013.

[snip]

The number of teenagers who have been drunk in the past year is at a record low and the drop for eighth-graders is particularly remarkable.

What the hell is going on? How can I complain about how awful and depraved today's kids are if the stats make them look so good? Haven't our schools turned into jungles? Hasn't the increase in depictions of sex and violence in the media turned kids into raging ids? Aren't parents being too permissive, or too overprotective, or too . . . something or other?

If things were going the other way, if the stats were trending for the worse, people would be quick enough to blame the usual suspects. So I guess, given the direction things are going, we've got to say, "Congratulations social, cultural and educational institutions. Way to go! Whatever you're doing, keep it up!"

While everyone else is fighting over discounted Soda Streams and comforter sets online today, you can spend your hard earned cash wisely by snatching up cheaper tickets for Dianne Reeves’ performance at the Tucson Jazz Festival.

Tickets to see the three-time Grammy award winning jazz vocalist range from $35 to $65, but by using the code SAVE15 at checkout, you can get 15% off your ticket purchase.

Reeves will perform at the Fox Theatre on Sunday, January 18 at 7 p.m. The all ages event is presented by the University of Arizona’s jazz series.

The Tucson Jazz Festival will take place Friday, January 16 through Wednesday, January 28 at several different venues including the Fox and Rialto theatres. For more information on the festival, including a full list of concerts, visit the festival’s website.

I'm crossing my fingers that Insane Clown Posse do something interesting in the next three days so I can really pay tribute to my Range-muses, but in the meantime, it only seems right that someone posted a Muppets vs. 90's-hip-hop video mashup on YouTube yesterday, so I could have something to post. Thanks, internet!

The Strange Music collaboration of rapper Murs and Miami-based Latin hip hop group ¡Mayday! might seem like an unlikely mash-up, but both sides agree it’s all about the intensity.

“I feel like I have cannons behind me,” Murs says.

The live set-up, which you can experience for yourself at The Rock on Saturday, November 29, features all members standing and performing. Murs says the passion and energy of their live shows “has to be seen to believed.”

“It’s like when you’re playing pinball and then you get the extra ball,” Murs explains. “I’m the extra ball.”

Obviously Murs, who is known for his love of comic books, hasn’t lost his geekiness in the merger. After all, ¡Mursday! has a song called “Bitcoin Beezy.” However, both Murs and Gianni Cash of ¡Mayday! agree that the lyrical content of the ¡Mursday! project is lighter and “more laid back” than their other work.

“They add pop hooks,” Murs says. “We’re trying to bring credible music to the mainstream while not compromising our integrity.”

“We really want to get a Latin Grammy,” Cash says jokingly.

With Murs based in Tucson and ¡Mayday! having performed in the city on previous tours, the group says that they’re excited to return. Murs says he sees Tucson’s scene as one that integrates elements of hip-hop culture equally, be it graffiti, rap, or B-boy dancing. That being said, Murs admits that he’s seen first hand that the scene has some growing to do still.

“There’s a lot of self-loathing in Tucson,” Murs says. “More kids should take pride in it and stop looking at it as a second-rate city.”

While Murs and ¡Mayday! say they originally saw the ¡Mursday! project as a one time collaboration, being on the same label means they’ll be working on solo projects together in the future a lot. Currently, you can download a three-track EP from Mursday through Boost Mobile or you can check them out at The Rock with local rappers Marley B and Cash Lansky beginning at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 29. The show is all ages with tickets available in advance for $20 through TicketForce.com.

Prepare your ponchos because it’s time to get folky. On Saturday, November 29, local folk musicians like The Wayback Machine, Clay Brown, and Stefan George will be hitting the Boondocks Lounge stage in support of the 2015 Tucson Folk Festival.

Joining those performers are Shanti Foster, Gene Holmes, Les Merrihew, Gary Mackender, Mitzi Cowell, Bryan Dean, and Amochip Dabney. The event also promises some mystery guests.

According to the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association website, the concert’s proceeds will “raise funds that help keep the Folk Festival free,” which means if you pay $10 to go to this show now, me and you and everyone we know can go to the Tucson Folk Festival for free next year. Of course, it wouldn’t necessarily be free for you because you’ve already paid $10 for it.


Regardless, if you’re in for a night of noodling and jamming, the Dance of Thanks 2014 folk fundraiser will be at Boondocks Lounge at First Avenue north of Fort Lowell Road. Music starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday and goes until 12:30 a.m.

As the Tucson ex-pats start flooding back into town for Thanksgiving, it might be easiest to just corral the old gang at one venue for one event and stick to it. Dancing and DJs, local favorites, and even a bit of burlesque are on the list—all you have to do is get everyone to agree on one thing. Good luck with that.

Club Congress

Don’t let the first two and a half minutes of that video phase you. Behind all of the weird arty visuals and creepy storytellying, Mr. Gnome treads the line between chill art rock and danceable pop that is perfect for a night out with your (21+) best buds—even if those buds are just wallflowers. With local openers Katterwaul and Acorn Bcorn, as well as out of towners Young Tongue, you’ll get a good bang for your concert buck with this four-band line-up for $10 at the door or $8 in advance.

District Tavern

Maybe your idea of dancing involves more head nodding and a fair amount of head tossing. Well, District Tavern is hosting Still Life Telescope, along with La Cerca and Kicking Leaves. You’ll want to make sure to come early (which means 10 p.m. because that’s when this show starts) because if you’ve heard La Cerca’s new album, you know the mellow garage psych band is worth a listen. Plus, it’s Kicking Leaves’ first show.


Rialto Theatre

You’ve been playing it proper in front of the folks, but if you’re ready to get geeky and freaky, head over to Rialto for the Suicide Girls’ burlesque showcase. The event promises sexed up takes on Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and Donnie Darko. If you’re willing to shell out $26, it’s definitely going to be quite the spectacle.

La Cocina

For something a little more mellow and with a good dose of Tucson twang, pull up a chair and order some polenta fries and a beer at La Cocina. Ms. Lana Rebel will be crooning her sweet folksy tunes accompanied by Kevin Michael Mayfield from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m.



The Flycatcher

Last but not least, Flycatcher is hosting a sort of DJ free-for-all called “The Night Before Yum-Yumz.” Much like that aunt that insists on bringing dessert but it also always on some weird diet, it’s hard to say what you’re going to get. It’ll probably be fun though and it’s also free.

For 12 years Rich Hopkins has shown a lot of love to Casa Maria Catholic Worker Community the South Tucson soup kitchen that in turn shows a lot of love to people less fortunate in our city and anyone fighting the good fight.

Hopkins returns to Tucson tonight for the 12th Thanksgiving Casa Maria benefit he's organized, Tuesday, Nov. 25, at Club Congress, 7:30 p.m. $7 donation or bring a nonperishable foods donation.

Besides Rich Hopkins and the Luminarios, other performances tonight from Cesar Aguirre y Amigos, Cesar Gonzales and our Tucson cumbia lovies, Chica Dust.

While I would have been better off not going to Wikipedia to see what it was New Orleans rapper Mystikal went to prison for, his No Limit-meets-James Brown appearance with Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson on Saturday Night Live was a spectacular bit of live music on TV. Then again, if you throw the horns from Sharon Jones' backing band, the Dap-Kings, behind nearly anything it would be worth a listen.

As a bonus, here's a track from Ronson's 2003 album, Here Comes the Fuzz, "Ooh Wee," which has the good fortune of having appearances by Ghostface Killah and the late Nate Dogg.