August 31, 2007

Friday a Wry Day for Music News

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R.E.M.

  • R.E.M. are putting the finishing touches on their new album with producer Jacknife Lee, their first since 2004. “Working rehearsal” shows in Dublin pointed towards a more straightforward, guitar-based sound on the new material, which Mike Mills confirmed to Billboard magazine, saying the band is using fewer overdubs and keyboards. The as-yet-unnamed album is set for release in 2008.

  • U2 are totally copying them! Their new album, also their first since 2004, is being rehearsed, according to producer Daniel Lanois, and set for a 2008 release as well. Lanois said Brian Eno is also involved in both writing and producing the material; some of the band’s best albums, including The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby, were produced by this duo, although their most recent album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was mainly produced by Steve Lillywhite.

  • Will Apple announce the arrival of the Beatles catalog to the iTunes music service on Wednesday, September 5th, at their “special event” in San Francisco? The ads say “The Beat Goes On,” and Ringo’s solo work was added to iTunes today.

  • The sad Amy Winehouse saga gets slightly sadder: Bookmaker Ladbrokes has lowered the singer’s odds to win the UK Mercury Music Prize, for which she was the frontrunner. Bat For Lashes‘ Fur and Gold is now the favorite, with 9-4 odds, compared to Winehouse’s 11-4.

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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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