The Three Greatest Recordings of Handel’s Messiah, By Don Lundell

My favorite is this one – Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Great tempos, terrific soloists. http://www.amazon.com/Handel-Complete-Oratorio-George-Frideric/dp/B000003CT7 And I’d also mention this one, for a big chorus version – Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra of London. This version played in our house at Christmas, growing up in Chicago. http://www.amazon.com/Messiah-George-Frideric-Handel/dp/B000002S20 And finally for a good version with period …

The Other F Word – A Movie About Aging Punk Rockers and What Fatherhood Means to Them, By Holly Homan

On Thanksgiving Eve I ventured out to Seattle’s University District to Landmark Theater’s Varsity Theater to view The Other F Word. The movie is a documentary about punk rockers (mostly from California) and what it’s like for the ultimate rebels to be fathers. The movie begins with Art Alexakis (Everclear), Fat Mike (NOFX), Jim Lindberg …

RETURN OF THE RATS – Vintage Portland Music That Deserves to Live On – By Ben Easher

Music historians rarely mention the Rats except when listing bands that Portland singer/songwriter/guitarist Fred Cole played in before Dead Moon. In fact, the Rose City’s alternative music scene of the early 1980s is mostly regarded as a footnote to the hype generated in Seattle a decade later. When former Dead Moon drummer Andrew Loomis invited …