Handler was in two bands after college, the Edith Head Trio and Tzamboni, but it wasn't until "69 Love Songs", a three-album set by The Magnetic Fields, that his music attracted attention. He played accordion on several tracks in "69 Love Songs". In the box set of the project, Handler provides a lengthy interview with band leader Stephin Merritt about the project, as well as conversations about each song. He also appears in the 2009 documentary "Strange Powers," by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara, about Merritt and the Magnetic Fields.