May/June 2006 Issue

People Gonna Talk

James Hunter. <i> Rounder/Go.</i>

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It may be star time for James Hunter, whose irresistible third album brings a new sparkle to dusty old styles. A protégé of Van Morrison, with whom he’s shared stages and studios, this affable Briton is a hardcore R&B junkie, yet you don’t need to be an expert on Jackie Wilson or Georgie Fame to feel his smoldering love songs. While Hunter’s crisp grooves offer everything from rubbery ska rhythms to swinging shuffles to chunky, James Brown-inspired raveups, his voice is the main attraction. Like John Hiatt, an equally commanding singer from a different neighborhood, Hunter is a master of controlled intensity, hinting at volcanic reserves of emotion even when crooning in a mellow mode. Playing off his fine band, which features swift drummer Jonathan Lee and a pair of passionate saxophonists, he sounds as though he’s thoroughly enjoying himself.

THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

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The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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