Music

In 2006, I watched a charming, somewhat 50’s-inspired young indie band play at what was then the Balazo Gallery on Mission. I bought an EP of theirs called Loose Change. The EP featured six short and sweet, excellently crafted pop songs and I came to love it for its simple elegance and likability. There was no “getting it” involved in the appreciation of these songs, they were just good.

That band was called The Morning Benders. Over the years, I enjoyed reading pieces about them every now and again and took pleasure in knowing that they were doing okay for themselves out in the world. In 2010 they released a much huger sounding and very produced record called Big Echo, which was also good and, despite the sonic maturing, it still had the same simple “songy” charm I enjoyed with their first EP.

Whatever, they were a band, I thought they were good. Cool? This is what they sounded like.

OK. Some of you may remember that at the end of March, The Morning Benders released a statement that they were changing their name because “Bender” means “GAY PERSON” in Europe and so they simply had to change their name to POP ETC (which they did) to protect gay people in Europe from being called gay. Or something. Really high-minded and forward thinking, The Morning Benders. Thanks for saving gay people!

So anyway, these kids changed a whole lot more than their band name. Rather than explain, I’ll just let you guys go ahead and take a gander at the video they just released:

Uh.... Cool, guys. Really cool.

So just off the bat, here are my thoughts.

1. This band totally made a big stink about “we’re changing our name out of respect for the gay community” when it was obviously just to promote their new, completely unrelated white (sorry, asian?) kid smooth RnB jam project.

2. Nice tank top.

3.  It’s hard for me not to feel like this dude didn’t just start making electronic music because it’s super “in”. This could just be because I really like guitars and stuff, but I feel like this music sounds really phony, joyless, uninspired, not super well-constructed, and contrived.

I’m not saying artists shouldn’t branch out and try new things, but putting out boring smooth jamz about “living it up” seems to me like a cop-out. Also, rock n roll is an important American art form that I don’t want to see die in favor of writhing pretty-boys in tank tops. Like, dude are you wearing lipgloss?

Here’s your moment of zen.

Previously on Uptown Almanac

• Eurodummies Call "The Morning Benders" Gay, Band Gets Hella Bent Out of Shape

Unless you have a grip of cash and managed to refresh the ticket order form during that magical window between 09:59:30 and 09:59:45am on Jan. 13th, you're probably not going to Coachella.  But as Thrillcall (makers of this rad posters, which for some unknown reason isn't published on their own blog) explains, it's not a total loss:

Coachella 2012 is here – if “here” for you is the greater Los Angeles area. For the rest of us, Coachella can be a money sink, with travel and lodging costs often doubling the already-steep ticket price. If you’re a Bay Area resident and the proud owner of a few wallet flies, Coachella artists often detour to San Francisco to pick up extra shows before and after Coachella. This trickle-down benefit has given rise to a sort of shadow festival called Fauxchella, and we should see the phenomenon become even more pronounced as Coachella expands to a two-weekend format for the first time. Festival artists are contractually prevented from playing in the Los Angeles area up to a month before and after the event, and plenty of them want to slip out in the downtime between weekends.

Read on for a more thorough list of the artists performing over the next few weeks.

[via Reddit]

Serra Bowl's imminent closing is understandably bumming out bowlers and Big Lebowski fan boys and girls alike, but one aspect of its shuttering is oft-overlooked: the loss of its much loved karaoke bar.  Luckily for those of us who are more prone to making an ass out of ourselves on the stage than the lanes, Todd Wanerman of The Bay Bridged penned a fine look at what we're losing:

The impeccable vintage 49ers photos and headlines have been taken down, but, other than that, nothing here suggests that Serra Bowl is about to become – on April 15th – the latest venerable, authentic Bay Area institution to fall victim to time and tide. A steady parade of humanity flows through its oddly small and hard-to-find double glass doors.

In the denuded Sports Lounge, the notoriously cranky DJ is presiding over a jubilantly defiant (or were they defiantly jubilant?) throng. Every few minutes or so, he reminds the assembled that April 14th will see no karaoke, but a closing night party we won’t want to miss.

Keep reading for additional words and pictures.