September/October 2007 Issue

Hey Hey My My Yo Yo

Members of the B-52’s, Le Tigre, and Motown cult favorites the Velvelettes help Junior Senior elevate the pursuit of innocent fun to a fine art. <i>Rykodisc/Crunchy Frog</i>.

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Goofy Danes Jesper Mortensen and Jeppe Laursen elevate the pursuit of innocent fun to a fine art on the second Junior Senior album. Combining the wide-eyed longing of girl-group pop, the playground energy of early rap, and the soaring optimism of vintage disco, the duo tackles heavy-duty issues in seemingly disposable tunes. Aided by members of the B-52’s, Le Tigre, and Motown cult favorites the Velvelettes, the lads use their search for the perfect song to promote self-betterment in “I Like Music (W.O.S.B.)” and achieve dance-floor nirvana on “Can I Get Get Get,” which recalls funk immortals Chic. If the giddy “We R the Handclaps” doesn’t make you smile, it’s time to get professional help.

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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.

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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?

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