The Benitez Sisters got their start in their native Cuba. Fashioning themselves after the more popular singing groups around Havana at the time. However, as the times dictated Hermanas Benitez found themselves settling in Mexico in the early 1960's where their recording career took off.

Tonight it's a track from 1960 and an early stab at a Girl Group rock n' roll sound. Pepito has none of the trappings of the Havana singing groups of the time. Rather they tried to emulate a modified Doo-Wop approach. The result is . . .well . . interesting.

I would imagine you probably haven't heard this track before - I don't think it's been reissued on any of their compilations, and if you can get past the Accordion that plays a prominent position in the song it's rather catchy.

But don't take my word for it.

This week's concert comes from Stockholm and it features the Swedish Radio Symphony, conducted by Daniel Harding and featuring one of the legendary figures of the keyboard, Menahem Pressler playing the Mozart G Major Piano Concerto K. 453. After the break, the orchestra embarks on a seamless presentation of music by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alban Berg. The concert was recorded on February 10th by Sveriges Radio.

Since there was a rather lengthy intermission, I just decided to break the concert up between two players, with part one (the top player) featuring the Mozart along with a Chopin encore. And part two (the bottom player) featuring the Schoenberg, Webern and Berg.

Here are the Program notes from Sveriges Radio:

"

Publiken var i extas" rapporterade en P2 Live klassiskt-medarbetare efter Menahem Presslers och Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkesters konsert i Berwaldhallen den 10 februari. Lyssna på detta ljuvliga framförande av Mozarts pianokonsert nr 17 och triptyken av Schönberg-Webern-Berg som har kallats för "Mahlers elfte symfoni".

21:30: Konsert med Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester
Solist: Menahem Pressler, piano. Dirigent: Daniel Harding.

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Pianokonsert nr 17 G-dur.

2. Arnold Schönberg: Fem orkesterstycken.

3. Anton Webern: Sex orkesterstycken.

4. Alban Berg: Tre orkesterstycken.

Konsert 10/2, Berwaldhallen.

Announcements are in Swedish and I've kept them to a minimum.

A great concert featuring one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio (Pressler) who is still actively touring and teaching and one of the truly bright lights of the music world.

Enjoy.

After Mitt Romney barely pulled out a win in the GOP primary in Michigan, as Stephen Colbert noted, Republicans are still desperately looking for the anyone-but-Romney candidate at this late date, with Red State's Erick Erickson humorously writing that maybe it's not too late for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to come along and save them:

If Republicans in Washington are not panicked and trying desperately to pull Bobby Jindal in the race tomorrow... the party leaders must have a death wish.

Cut to Bobby Jindal's "electrifying" response to President Obama's State of the Union Address back in 2009.

As Stephen pointed out, if Romney does well on Super Tuesday, conservatives all know what "their duty" is, which is to come together and "support the guy we're hoping is not the guy."

Open Thread below....

Multiple-choice Mitt is at it again, this time flip flopping on whether he's in support of the Blunt amendment which is likely to be voted on in the Senate this Thursday -- Romney Comes Out In Support Of Controversial Birth Control Bill:

One day before a critical Senate vote that could loom large as a 2012 election issue, Mitt Romney came out for a congressional Republican measure designed to roll back the Obama administration’s requirement that employer health plans cover birth control.

“Governor Romney supports the Blunt Bill because he believes in a conscience exemption in health care for religious institutions and people of faith,” Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul told TPM.

The Blunt amendment, which is scheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday, would permit employers to deny coverage of birth control or other services they deem morally objectionable.

Romney’s position had been brought into doubt after tweets from a local TV station reporter suggested the candidate had objected to the proposed bill. The candidate’s campaign released a statement saying, “Regarding the Blunt bill, the way the question was asked was confusing.”

To clear up any confusion, Romney himself weighed in, telling radio host Howie Carr, “I didn’t understand the question. Of course, I support the Blunt amendment. I thought he was talking about some state law that prevented people from getting contraception.”

But team Obama didn’t buy his explanation, accusing him of a “flip-flop” and fiercely denouncing his ultimate position.

“In one hour, Mitt Romney showed why women don’t trust him for one minute. It took little more than an hour for him to commit his latest flip-flop. Even worse, he ended up on the wrong side of an issue of critical importance to women,” said Stephanie Cutter, the deputy campaign manager of Obama For America.

Cutter said Romney is “in a race to the bottom with Rick Santorum to see who can pander most to the far right-wing.”

What's really pathetic as Melissa Harris-Perry noted in the clip above is that when Romney was probably telling the truth, as he did in the interview with the local reporter, he was on the right side of the issue, but he'd rather pander to the right to try to win the Republican nomination even though it's going to cost him in the general election.

Monkee Davy Jones died today of a heart attack at 66. Here's to the "little, short English one", as bandmate Mickey Dolenz described him. R.I.P.

The latest stories from the front lines of the labor fight across the country ...

Facebook is expanding its operations in anti-union North Carolina using IBEW workers (see video above)

The Cry Wolf Project is tracking and debunking right-wing claims that everything that Democrats do is killing jobs

American Rights at Work has launched a new website 'Wrong for Everyone', that takes on right-to-work (for less) laws

Rocky Mountain Train tickets were given as schwag at the Oscars despite the company's current lockout

Politifact says Mitt Romney is lying to say that Barack Obama gave the auto companies to the UAW

Romney is bashing unions now, but he lauded them in 2002 in connection with the Olympics

Is Workers Compensation the next front in the assault on labor?

Is the speaker of the House, Brian Bosma, moonlighting as a union-busting attorney?

The Scott Walker recall is currently a toss-up

The Walker recall election could take place as early as May 29

Four states are attempting to raise the minimum wage this year, despite strong opposition

German workers were stunned by U.S. anti-unionism in a tour of T-Mobile's American operations

Union ironworkers are standing up for their non-union brethren against Wal-Mart

Rolling Stone politics writer, Matt Taibbi, speaks during his teach-in on the problems with Bank of America and the other "Too Big To Fail" banks in Bryant Park, New York on February 29th, 2012. "The easiest way I can explain this," he said, "is it was banks selling Oregano as weed."

Rolling Stone covers Taibbi's speech, plus a photo gallery of the events. Tim Pool livestreamed it. To skip to Matt's speech, jump past the march coverage to about the 22 minute mark.

The good news comes from The Gothamist:

Occupy Wall Street begins two days of major demonstrations today as a group of wealthy backers announces their plan to pump $1.8 million into the movement. The Movement Resource Group, comprised of the two founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Nirvana's former manager Danny Goldberg, among others, is a not-for-profit 501c3 that has raised $300,000 and aims to distribute it to the protesters in a series of grants. "Many of us have been working for progressive social change," Ben Cohen told the Wall Street Journal. "There's been a critical ingredient missing."

Representatives from the group met with Occupy Wall Street members on Sunday, and announced the plan to approve national grants of up to $25,000 with the approval of MRG and five OWS members. $150,000 will pay for a national office in New York, another $100,000 will pay for individual, targeted projects, and a smaller, undisclosed sum will be set aside for stipends for "core activists."

I wonder if there will be free ice cream?

OWS1 from Gothamist on Vimeo.

After Tuesday's NYC march and "rally against police suppression of the movement," a group of around 30 Occupy Wall Street activists had gathered in Zuccotti Park when the NYPD moved in with about 40 police officers to shut down the park in a surprise show of force. The arrests began when a few protesters brought backpacks and/or sleeping bags into the park. Watch the video and see if you can figure out any rhyme or reason for the arrests.

Via:

Charley, a protester who refused to give his last name, said that the group arrived at Zuccotti Park after a march from Union Square earlier in the day. "A few people have sleeping bags, and we have a huge rug too. We're basically seeing what [the police] will tolerate. I don't know that we're all planning on sleeping here."

Protesters claimed the park's private security force told them they could bring in blankets. "We can't look the other way but by all means," one of the guards said. A female NYPD officer strolling through the park grabbed a protester's blanket. "This is a sleeping bag," the officer determined, before reconsidering. "Or, no, it's a blanket. It's, it's a sleeping bag." The protester rolled up the blanket and walked out of the park. Officer DiPace told us, "The chief wants us to lock everybody up."

Shortly before midnight, a group of officers began moving through the park, inspecting bags, and shooing away the handful of protesters, some of whom scattered immediately rather than have their bags inspected. When asked what law they were breaking, Officer DiPace replied, "There's a law against everything. That's America." At the entrance to the park, the arrests began with the individual seen in this video, who insists police arrested him after sat down on the sidewalk.