Kirstin Maldonado

Probably no one has had her name misspelled and mispronounced as often and in so many ways as singer-songwriter Kirstin Maldonado. Maldonado takes it in stride, smiling wryly in this photo while wearing a tank top displaying some of the more common misspellings.

Recently, I watched an interview with Maldonado, and the woman conducting the interview introduced Maldonado as “Kristy Maldano.” My reaction: “Really? You couldn’t get either name correct?” I would have thought that a basic requirement for an interviewer would be to know the name of the person being interviewed. But I would have been wrong about that.

The worst mangling of Maldonado’s name that I’ve seen to date has to be “Kinston McDonald.” Kinston. McDonald. Wow. I suppose that given the current state of education in this country, it must count for something that someone at least got her initials correct.

Best known for her work with three-time Grammy-winning a cappella super-group Pentatonix, Maldonado just released her debut solo single and music video Break A Little. Maldonado wrote and recorded the song and designed the music video. Her debut EP is set to be released this summer.

Helena Legend & Kirstin Maldonado

The song of the day is 2017's Dose of You by British-born Australian singer-producer Helena Legend and singer-songwriter kirstin™.

Graffiti6

The song of the day is Calm the Storm from the 2010 album Colours by British band Graffiti6 (founded by London-born Jamie Scott and Tommy "TommyD" Danvers).

Pocahontas

During the recent presidential campaign, Donald Trump frequently called Hillary Clinton “crooked Hillary.” Even though his opponent had never been charged with a crime, Trump knew that if he repeated the accusation enough times the word “crooked” would become associated with the name “Hillary” in the minds of many voters. He used the same tactic against his other opponents: Crazy Bernie, Lyin’ Ted, Little Marco, Low Energy Jeb, Truly Weird Rand Paul.  Similarly, he belittles the mainstream news media by calling it “Fake News.”

Trump has also tried to besmirch one of his current opponents, Senator Elizabeth Warren, by calling her “Pocahontas.” Pocahontas was the name of a Native American woman who lived from about 1596 to 1617 (21 years). In 1616 she married tobacco planter John Rolfe and in 1617 they had a son whom they named Thomas. Her story has been romanticized over the years in art, literature, and film. Many famous people have claimed to be among her descendants.

Warren has claimed some degree of Native ancestry, a fact that Trump has seized upon for his attacks on her. Trump calls Warren “Pocahontas” because he thinks the name is derisive. The question is why? Does Trump consider a Native American name to be a slur? Or does Trump consider having Native American heritage to be a stain on one’s character? I don’t know if Trump is a racist, but it appears that Trump thinks the rest of us are.

Gil Scott-Heron

The song of the day is Me and the Devil from the 2010 album I'm New Here by poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron.

Black English

The song of the day is 2011's The Long Haul by indie-rock band Black English (formerly NO). Interview here.

Amy Shark

The song of the day is 2016's Adore by Australian singer-songwriter Amy Shark (Amy Billings).