Seth Sommerfeld

W hile it's always impressive when artists are legit multi-hyphenates, there's usually one field among the many where they truly feel most at home.

Advent calendars have been around for ages, but we're living in a golden age.

There's a reason so many high school kids start pop punk bands. The genre's simplicity offers a low barrier for entry for those just learning...

ALL HELL Los Campesinos! It had been seven years since Welsh DIY indie band Los Campesinos! put out an LP, so to make up for lost time the septet comes out swinging with an anthemic urgency akin to a punk (and less problematic) Arcade Fire. The members may have grown up a bit, but there's still a snarling leftist emo-leaning undercurrent in singer Gareth Paisey's bones as he spits lines about career retrospectives ("Holy Smoke (2005)"), spineless punks ("Feast of Tongues") and deteriorating mental health (every All Hell song?). In a world where pessimism often seems the sanest tack, Los Campesinos! craft a glorious agonized symphony of distortion to rally around.

The heroic epic poem Beowolf is produced, laying the groundwork for the fantasy genre.

I n case you're unaware, pickleball is actually the official sport of Washington state (in large part because it was created on Whidbey Island in the 1960s). As the fastest growing sport in the United States for three years running, seeing a 223.5% increase in players over that time, odds are decent that someone in your life has joined the craze. Here are a few ideas if you find yourself in a pickle when trying to shop for them.

Gonzaga needs to pick itself up after two disheartening losses.

Lonestar still does Texas proud. W hile "We Three Kings" may stealthily be a top-tier Christmas song, it's also one the most apocryphal of the lot. The Bible (Matthew 2:1-2) states nothing about the number men or royalty, only that "wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.'" But maybe the tune's creative liberties can still be used in other Christmas contexts...

I t's said that nostalgia is a drug, but, as we all know here in flu season, sometimes you need some drugs just to make it through the day. While the millennial generation has been dealt a pretty bleak hand (economics, environment, etc.), at least the pop culture of their childhood was pretty rad. That's something, right? ( Right?! ) Help the millennials in your life at least momentarily return to the blissful ignorance of their youths with these nostalgic gifts.

The Inland Northwest isn't considered a musical hotspot, but there's enough of a musical culture in Spokane and the surrounding areas that a wide swath...