May/June 2009

Music: Country Club

John Doe and The Sadies handle these classic-country covers with style and grace.

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Ever since he raged in the pioneering Los Angeles punk band X a quarter century ago, John Doe’s weary yet resilient voice has brought soul to whatever style he tackles. Doe croons with authority on this terrific set of classic-country covers (plus a few originals), supported by the nimble Sadies, Neko Case’s one-time touring band. Standouts include the wailing honky-tonk of Waylon Jennings’ “Stop the World and Let Me Off” and Porter Wagoner’s toe-tapping revenge saga “The Cold Hard Facts of Life.” Even purists will applaud his graceful take on the Johnny Cash standard “I Still Miss Someone.”

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In "News Is Just Like Waste Management," we unpack what the coronavirus crisis has meant for journalism, including Mother Jones’, and how we can rise to the challenge. If you're able to, this is a critical moment to support our nonprofit journalism with a donation: We've scoured our budget and made the cuts we can without impairing our mission, and we hope to raise $400,000 from our community of online readers to help keep our big reporting projects going because this extraordinary pandemic-plus-election year is no time to pull back.

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