May/June 2008 Issue

Music Review: Mr. Love & Justice

Billy Bragg. <i>Anti-</i>.

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In the early ’80s, Billy Bragg played pared-down punk songs built around appealing doo-wop chord progressions. That early simplicity still prevails underneath Mr. Love & Justice‘s orchestration and polish. Twangy songs like “If You Ever Leave” bear the mark of his collaboration with Wilco, and the extraordinary-rendition ballad “O Freedom” has enough hiss and vinegar to prove he hasn’t lost his political edge. But Bragg was never one for sneering, and on his 11th album, his trademark sweetness and sincerity are in full force.

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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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