January 11, 2008

Friday’s Sly Music News Day

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  • Okay, I knew that pneumonia story was suspicious. It turns out Eminem wasn’t just in the hospital for a cough. The rapper has apparently ballooned into a “fat Elvis,” this according to his mom, who’s quoted in a gossip blog saying the 5 foot 7 rapper now weighs over 200 pounds and was hospitalized for possible heart problems as well as the pneumonia. Apparently the rapper is “depressed.” But it feels so empty without you!

  • Following in the wake of Radiohead‘s post-EMI success, both Coldplay and Robbie Williams are reportedly considering leaving the label as well. Well if you have a “pay what you want” internet site, please do it in dollars so I don’t screw it up again. Oh wait, I don’t buy music from either of you.

  • Soulja Boy has set a digital sales record. His irrepressible hit “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy),” whose eponymous subtitle confuses and infuriates me, has become the first track to sell 3 million downloads. The music videos have been viewed over 50 million times on YouTube. Soulja Boy responded to the news by saying, “Yuuuuaaaa!!” Seriously.

  • This year’s Coachella music festival near Palm Springs is set for the weekend of April 25-27, and now Idolator has what they call the “first fake line-up” for this year’s festival, although Stereogum posted one back in November. Nothing, however, beats the one you can see after the jump:
    •

    mojo-photo-fakecoachella.jpg

    Toto and Crash Test Dummies on the same stage? Don’t tease me.

    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.

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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.

    payment methods

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