August 12, 2008

New Music From Around the Blogs: Franz Ferdinand, Joanna Newsom, Saul Williams, DJ Excel

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Franz Ferdinand finally have a complete song for us to listen to at their website, although they want your e-mail address for the privelige. “Lucid Dreams” hums along pleasantly enough, at the tempo of “Take Me Out” but without the brain-seizing hooks. Hey, I think I can embed their player, so you don’t have to go here. (For fans of: Gang of Four, Buzzcocks, songs that mention Ithaca)

Via No Words comes good news for everyone into harps and stuff: a new Joanna Newsom song! Granted, in this working version of “Heart to Task,” the recording is terrible and I think you can actually hear someone sneeze. Unfortunately, proving the rabid intensity of Newsom fandom, the bandwidth limit has already been reached for the mp3, but you can still stream it here. (For fans of: Björk, CocoRosie, Narnia)

After the jump: Niggy Tardust puts feathers in his hair, and DJ Excel makes Baltimore mellow out.

AudioPorn Central has the video for the new Saul Williams track, “Convict Colony,” and it’s as nutty as you’d expect, sounding like Living Color mixed with Aphex Twin, illustrated with neon-colored imagery of explosions. Hooray! (For fans of: Nine Inch Nails, Aesop Rock, blowing stuff up)

Government Names keeps us in the B-more loop with an oddly mellow number from DJ Excel. “All Nite Long” has the thumping, syncopated bass drum that’s standard around those parts, but layers a lilting ’80s keyboard melody over the top, and the result is both energetic and thoughtful. (For fans of: DJ Blaqstarr, Burial, Lionel Ritchie)

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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.

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