One of My Favorite Local Bands: Broun Fellinis

The coolest, grooviest, most chocolate-fabulous jazz trio on this planet is the Broun Fellinis. I have seen this group in concert a couple of times and have been blown away each time. I own albums and try to expose the spawn to it whenever I can. They play locally in San Francisco and the East Bay occasionally and we recently missed a gig at the Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco. We hope to catch them in live when we can get someone to watch the spawn.

So buy their albums! See their shows! Just hang out and let their myspace site play in the background while you blog and sip Cellar No.8 Cabernet with notes of chocolate, tobacco, and leather.

“Como Se Dice…Como Se llama? (OBAMA, OBAMA)”

Turn up the volume and play this tune to celebrate Debate Night on CNN 5pm PST. Usually I am over at Wonkette.com live blogging (there have been so many debates). I am debating whether I should just live debate here instead. I am so glad that I have been searching for Obama news in Texas. Even though I really liked the Yes We Can Video, I am loving these Spanish Obama songs -- you can actually dance. Viva Obama!

Viva Obama! (Viva!) Familias unidas, seguras y hasta con plan de salud!

Gracias Gawker.com!

Here is the English translation:
To the candidate who is Barack Obama
I sing this corrido with all my soul
He was born humble without pretension
He began in the streets of Chicago
Working to achieve a vision
To protect the working people
And bring us all together in this great nation
Viva Obama! Viva Obama!
Families united and safe and even with a health care plan
Viva Obama! Viva Obama!
A candidate fighting for our nation
It doesn't matter if you're from San Antonio
It doesn't matter if you're from Corpus Christi
From Dallas, from the Valley, from Houston or from El Paso
What matters is that we vote for Obama
Because his struggle is also our struggle, and today we urgently need a change
Let's unite with our great friend
Viva Obama! Viva Obama!
Families united and safe and even with a health care plan

Viva Obama! Viva Obama!
A candidate fighting for our nation

Proto-Feminism-o-Rama

When this song was sung there were some states where it was illegal for a doctor to prescribe birth control to married women, much less single women who shouldn't be having sex. So you have this lovely Leslie declaring a sense of control that was pure fantasy at the time. The year this song was sung Betty Freidan wrote The Feminine Mystique, which started to articulate the angst that led to the modern feminist movement. This song seems to rage against everything that a woman had to face in the stifling 1950s and early sixties. Somewhere the angst about being forced into the role of mother got confused with the devaluation of motherhood in favor of career and freedom. To my mind feminism should mean that women have a free choice to pick what they want to do in life even if it means wanting motherhood. As a feminist, I was disappointed to learn that feminists ignored the complaints of birth mothers who were forced to relinquish their children for adoption, since it was thought at the time that motherhood was more a burden. Relinquishment was seen as some sort of freedom. At this time, women who found themselves pregnant out-of-wedlock would be whisked away to maternity homes throughout the country. They were told that if anyone found out about their shameful little secret that no man would ever want them -- many of them look very much like our lovely Leslie Gore.

July 4th, 1989 Dead Show in Buffalo, NY

U.S. Blues Live. Maven saw these guys the night before in Foxboro, MA.

Maven's Mini-Concert: The Broun Fellinis

My husband saw these guys in a club in the Lower Haight for our first "date" as I brought my best friend with us as well. These guys seriously play delicious music. Check out The Broun Fellinis myspace site.

Maven's Mini-Concert: Otis Redding at Monterey

If you can own one concert movie on DVD, my pick would be The Complete Monterey Pop Festival featuring an amazing set of Otis Redding.