March 14, 2007

Arcade Fire Misses #1 Spot; World Somehow Goes On

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mojo-photo-hitparade.jpgTen days ago I ventured a prediction (or, really, a wish) that Arcade Fire could hit #1 with their new album Neon Bible. It was all very exciting. Upon the album’s release on March 6th, it shot straight to the top of the iTunes charts (where it remains) and indie rock geeks like myself around the world held their breath. Well, sorry, geeks. The official Billboard charts won’t be posted until Thursday, but HITS Magazine online is reporting (registration required) that the Fire will land at #2, behind the late Notorious B.I.G., whose Greatest Hits sold nearly 100,000 copies to Neon Bible‘s 83,000. Not really even close, but dead rappers win every time, so there’s no point crying into your vintage T-shirts over this. And besides, take solace in this consolation prize: Arcade Fire managed to kick American Idol reject Daughtry down to #3.

[Update, 3/15/07, 1:30pm]
Billboard magazine is reporting that the battle between Biggie and Arcade Fire was a little bit closer: 99,000 to 92,000 copies, with 30% of the latter’s sales coming from digital retailers.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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