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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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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