March/April 2008 Issue

Music Review: Transnormal Skiperoo

Jim White. <i>Luaka Bop</i>.

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Named for what White calls the strange new sensation of feeling “good to be alive,” the mesmerizing Transnormal Skiperoo is a departure from his three previous albums of gothic Southern rock. But this moving account of his search for meaning is no exercise in sweet spirituality. Backed by the sure-handed roots band Ollabelle, White insists he’s “done turning diamonds into coal” and proclaims, “I’ll never fit in, so why should I try?” with his weary voice indicating that each good day is hard earned. And the delicate “Plywood Superman,” which recalls how his daddy “used to beat on me with his mind not his hands,” offers a chilling reminder that despair lurks nearby.

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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?

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