October 26, 2007

Friday? Drop By for Music News Day

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Music News

  • OiNK founder Alan Ellis posted bail after his arrest on Tuesday and gave a defiant interview to the Daily Telegraph, saying “I haven’t done anything wrong… there is no music sold on the site,” adding, ominously, that the music download directory was “no different [than] something like Google.” Really, so I’m a moron for not buying OiNK stock too?

  • The B-52’s are inspired enough by my collecting of a few of their videos here on the Riff that they’ve decided to record a new album, their first in 15 years. “Hey,” they said to each other, “if the Riff likes us, I bet we still got it!” Well, actually, no, that’s not how it happened, they say was a vacation in Maui or something that inspired them, but still, maybe we helped.

  • 1,730 guitarists strummed in unison at a stadium in Guwahati, India today in an attempt to break the world record for most guitarists playing together at a stadium in India. Or just “biggest guitar ensemble.” Their song of choice? “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” An organizer told Reuters, “Though we set a new world record, we are sad as we were expecting more than 2,000 guitarists.” Talk about a negative Nelly.

  • San Francisco officials have withdrawn a planned honor for Snoop Dogg. What? No! Apparently a representative from mayor Gavin Newsom‘s office was supposed to present a proclamation for the rapper and a party promoter at the Exotic Erotic Ball, an annual Halloween- and sex-themed event this weekend, but the Newsom administration is a little jumpy after all the bad publicity they received for “Colt Studio Day.” So this probably nixes my idea of an official “Fuck with Dre Day?” That settles it, I’m voting for Quintin.
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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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