June 10, 2013

Sonny Smith’s Afterworld Connection

Sonny Smith is now officially awake.Andy DeSantis for Polyvinyl Records

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Sonny & the Sunsets
Antenna to the Afterworld 
Polyvinyl

San Francisco native Sonny Smith, who sings like he’s just woken up from a long nap, deserves more than cult acclaim. The captivating Antenna to the Afterworld adds a scruffy techno-sheen to his down-home garage rock, but lucky fans who already know his work will recognize Smith’s usual inventive blend of rueful humor, absurdist detours and aching undercurrents of longing and existential dread. “I come from a planet of dogs,” he murmurs placidly on “Dark Corners,” only to conclude, “I see dark corners in your weird world,” while “Void” finds him observing, “When I look into your eyes / I see the void,” adding, “It’s a funny kind of sad joy,” which neatly sums up Smith’s intriguing style.

For more Sonny, check out the recent 100 Records Vol. 3 (Polyvinyl), a fake various artists compilation, where he portrays such varied fictional performers as soul providers Little Antoine & the Sparrows, The Wayward Youth, a reggae band, and rockers Zig Speck & the Specktones. It’s irresistible.

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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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