Happening Tuesday: The Sea and Cake, Korn and more

BOOKS

Aimee Bender The Los Angeles-based writer and USC professor will read from her work and discuss the art of fiction. Bender is the author of four books, most recently “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.” Santa Monica College (HSS 165: Humanities and Social Sciences Building), 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 11:15 a.m. Free. (310) 434-4303. https://www.smc.edu

MUSIC

The Sea and Cake Sam Prekop’s jazz-infused indie band has always balanced gentle, sensitive vibes with a streak of adventurous musicianship (drummer John McEntire does time in the freaky experimental outfit Tortoise). But they’ve built up a devoted fan base for years, and this years “The Moonlight Butterfly” still hits their unlikely sweet spot. The bewitching singer Lia Ices opens. Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. 9 p.m. $18. troubadour.com.

Korn Rap The band has had a bit of a sly revival lately (see: Lil Wayne, Yelawolf), but the members of the seven-string guitar and white-dude dreadlocks are anything but subtle about it. They’ve taken on a more au courant electronic influence of late, but Jonathan Davis will still howl about dudely mental torture as long as teenagers are angsty. Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., L.A. 7 p.m. $39.50. livenation.com.

Dark Carols: A Christmas Cycle As everyone knows, the holidays are actually all about feeling really depressed and existentially bleak. This new song cycle by composer Peter Golub and writer Philip Littell explores the gloomy, wan underside of the season to haunting effect. ALOUD at Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., L.A. 7 p.m. Free. lapl.org.