October 7, 2008

MP3: Brett Dennen – “Make You Crazy”

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mojo-photo-dennen.jpgI’ve been doing pretty well this election season, emotional-stability-wise, but today, I’m starting to get really pissed. With the tacit encouragement of the candidates, McCain-Palin rallies are turning into lynch mobs, astonishing examples of the real consequences of pushing Rovian campaign tactics that far. Whether or not Obama is dominating in the polls, this kind of stuff makes me furious and terrified, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch the debate tonight without being physically restrained, or my TV might end up out on the sidewalk.

Oakdale, California’s Brett Dennen understands. His new album, Hope for the Hopeless (hey, that’s me!) comes out October 21st; his label, Downtown, has a free mp3 of the first single, “Make You Crazy” (that’s also me!), whose lyrics acknowledge that the “lies just to get you/spies just to get you” are “enough to make you go crazy.” Thankfully, its sunny samba rhythms have the calming properties of a nice caipirinha—not too sweet, but tasty enough to help you forget why you were about to blow your top over some planted pseudo-redneck at a Palin rally. And is that Femi Kuti in the background? Why yes it is. Ahhh, that’s better.

MP3: Brett Dennen – “Make You Crazy”

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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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