"Natalie Portman's Shaved Head" Changes Name, Releases New Song

Seattle electronic music darlings, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, announced this morning that they have changed their stand out and eye catching name to "Brite Futures". They've also released their first new song since their debut album, Glistening Pleasure, came out in July 2008. The new song is called "Dog Eared Summer" and can be heard on the following link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8177217/Dog_Eared_Summer.mp3 (to download, right-click the link and select the "Save Link As"/"Save Target As" option)

The name change, while rather unfortunate in my opinion, was inevitable. The group has previously mentioned that they were talking to Natalie Portman's "people" and were looking for her blessing on their band name, and apparently she/they did not like it. Whether or not NPSH would have been forced to change their name if Natalie considered legal action, I'm not sure, but the band did not want any trouble. Here is the statement they released this morning about the name change:

"We chose our band name on a whim when we were still in high school, and “Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head” has seen us through an unexpectedly amazing four years. Our love affair with Natalie’s name was like a summer fling that lasted... and lasted... and lasted... But now it is summer once again, and time for a change. Also, it has recently come to our attention that our muse Ms. Portman is not so keen on us using her name in ours... Ultimately we are lovers, not fighters, and our mamas didn’t raise no fools, so we feel it is time to move forward with a new name. We are BRITE FUTURES. No hard feelings Natalie. You remain +1 on every guest list."

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head has been steadily on the rise over the last few years. My perception of how popular they are is probably skewed, since I live near Seattle and have watched them grow from a group of high school kids playing in my small home town, to performing at Bumbershoot and Sasquatch music festivals, as well as touring with Lily Allen, CSS, and even opening for Weezer.

"Brite Futures" has been hard at work on their sophomore album which hopefully will be released sometime this year. Check out this funny video they created to go along with this name change: