August 24, 2007

Morrissey Says “No” Again to Smiths Reunion

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Oh, Mozzer...
In more Morrissey-related news, sit down. Think of the person you hate most in the world, and then think how much money it would take for you to hang around with him or her for, I dunno, a few weeks. What do you say, 50 grand? A million? Howabout $75 million? Well, Morrissey is made out of stronger stuff than you and I, as Billboard is reporting the Mozzer has turned down £40 million to tour as The Smiths, the only requirement being the inclusion of guitarist Johnny Marr. That’s right, drummer Mike Joyce, who was awarded £1 million in a 1998 lawsuit against Marr and Morrissey for unfair distribution of royalties, doesn’t even have to be included, and Morrissey still said no. What’s the deal?

Well, maybe he’s holding out for more cash. With bands from The Police to The Pixies reaping huge profits from reunion tours, The Smiths are one of the only major bands of the last 30 years (whose members are all still alive) who refuse to put their differences aside. The price can only go up, really. Hold out for $200 mil, Moz!

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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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