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Best of Jay: Matador Singles ’08

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Artist: Jay Reatard
Title: Matador Singles ‘08
Label: Matador
Year: 2008

1) See/Saw- 10- My personal favorite from Jay Reatard. It’s heavy, catchy, funny, surely one to get stuck in your head! To me, it exemplifies everything great about Jay’s music. He creeps me out, but he creeps me in again.

2) Screaming Hand- 9.8- A nice tale about the young Reatard singer and how he was different from everyone else and started his band. I love the “You are my hero” and “oh No No No.” Extremely catchy. I find that SH goes well following See/Saw.

3) Painted Shut- 9.5- Simply Classic Reatard

4) An Ugly Death- 10- I try to avoid giving out more than one 10 on any album, but this definitely deserves it! I think this was the first Jay song I came across and it is very powerful to say the least. I love the epic guitar opener; it just makes my ears anticipate what will happen next. Even after listening to the tune a ludicrous amount of times, I still can’t get over those powerful, yet simple chords. When I’m shuffling songs and AUD pops up on my ipod, I can never muster the will to turn it down. My actual favorite part of the song is the “for you, for me, for all to see” the vocals and guitar are just perfect. I also dig the ominous lyrics meshed with the upbeat music.

5) Always Wanting More- 8.8- One of my least favorites on this compilation, but nonetheless a hooky and genuinely decent tune.

6) You Mean Nothing to Me- 9.0- Typical Reatard. It gets stuck in my dome from time to time. In terms of lyrics, People being meaningless to Jay seems to be a recurring theme.

7) Fluorescent Grey- 9.2- This is a Deerhunter cover. Having never heard the original, I don’t know how it holds up, but I enjoy it very much. Giving the nature of Deerhunter’s music, this one is a bit softer and more experimental than previous Reatard singles/songs, lacking the familiar chainsaw guitars and pop hooks. It works though and foreshadows future Reatard talents.

8) Trapped Here- 9.6- Haha, I always find myself laughing at Jay’s disturbing, malicious lyrics! Violence, particularly one villain torturing his victim and remind them that they can’t escape and that they will soon parish is a frequent theme in the long haired punk’s lyrics. Memorable lyrics include “Relax, Relax, Relax, my little victim” and “You have nowhere to hide and you have everywhere to die.” Haha, the music itself, menacing, perfectly compliments the creepy lyrics.

9) Hiding Hole- 9.4- Another signature Reatard tune. Extremely, catchy, loud, fast guitars, fast, shouted vocals.

10) DOA- 9.8- One of the more popular singles and it’s certainly easy to see why. One of the heavier and yet absolutely endearing songs from this album. It includes perhaps the best example of the classic Reatard technique of slowing down the guitars and drums and simply shouting one line over and over again till its burned into your brain. In this case “It’s No Fun! It’s No Fun! It’s No Fun!” for whoever is dying on arrival haha.

11) No Time- 10- Once again, a rare 10! I love this song so much! Completely Unreatard. One (you’ll see) of the softest Jay songs I have ever heard. When I first heard this I was confused, I thought I may have put on a different artist. In this number, we see a gentle Jay (it sounds so strange) expressing his deepest emotions. “It seems I never have the time to make my mind feel fine,” Jay’s best lyrics and one of the best lines I ever heard period!

12) You Were Sleeping- 9.8- It gets even stranger! I can picture this and the former pissing some Reatard fans off. Especially some serious Blood Visions motherfuckers. Most of the previous statements I made about “No Time” apply here. It’s a sensitive song, I couldn’t even imagine Jay playing live when I saw him.

13) I’m Watching You- 9.7- A fabulous closer to a fabulous record! Softer than most Reatard songs, but heavier than the previous two. Unlike the other two though, it’s an upbeat single, but it’s similar to them in the sense that they all violate the typical Reatard format. I always smirk whenever I hear the line “You see, to me, you always were a cunt.” Haha. This is much better than the Watch Me Fall version in my opinion.

Grade: A:One of the best albums (though it’s technically just a compilation of singles) I’ve ever heard and certainly of the past few years. Probably the best from 2008. Jay and the gang bring their roaring flying Vs with them from Blood Visions and Singles ‘06- ‘07 and mash them up with more pop and delve into previously unknown or unforeseen territories! Foreshadowing their next effort, Watch Me Fall. There’s a notable progression that is perfectly displayed here.

Chris

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Best of Jay: Blood Visions Review

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Artist: Jay Reatard
Title: Blood Visions
Label: In the Red
Year: 2006

1) Blood Visions- 9.5- Perfect opener: loud, fast, simple catchy, a great foreshadow to everything else Jay would later do on this album and beyond.

2) Greed, Money, Useless Children- 9.2- Quick, little catchy number. Employs the classic Reatard pop technique of slowing down the guitars and drums and simply shouting one line repeatedly, in this case- “Greed, Money, Useless Children.” It is clearly effective and we see this over and over again.

3) It’s So Easy- 9.7- Lyrically this is classic Reatard. Apathetic… to the point of not caring when your friends die haha.

4) My Shadow- 10! Arguably the band’s greatest offering (actually “See/Saw” is my favorite!) or at least a major fan favorite. And it’s not hard to see why. The song begins with simple and slow, but menacing guitars then erupts into a heavy motherfucker with Reatard hollering MY SHADOW at the top of his lungs! The best track on this album by far.

5) My Family- 9.2- Funky guitars, spooky/disturbing lyrics, it works for me! Displays Jay’s bizarre interaction with the other humans or “assholes” haha in his life. This theme continues on this album and throughout his current discography.

6) Death Is Forming- 9.0- The classic Reatard technique is exemplified on this track. See #2 I dig how he evolves “Death is Forming” into “Forming Death” haha.

7) Oh It’s Such A Shame- 8.5- Decent, nothing wrong with it, but for some reason, just doesn’t stand out.

8) Not A Substitute- 8.8- Another typical Reatard track…. actually a bit shorter, but it works here.

9) Nightmares- 9.5- Excellent Pop song, sounds more like a track off Matador Singles ‘08 or Watch Me Fall. Fabulous love/hate song. The lover Jay speaks of causes him to have horrible nightmares, yet he keeps “Searching” for her. Good Stuff

10) I See You Standing There- 9.0- Jay Stalker haha. Just listen to the lyrics to understand what I’m saying. Musically, very catchy and endearing. I especially love the final line, which is shouted extremely fast: “DON’T MOVE!” ahaha.

11) We Who Wait- 9.0- Great sing along. You could march this one haha. Once again we see lyrics containing themes of isolation and generally misanthropic thoughts.

12) Fading All Away- 9.9- Amazing! Hilariously savage. Lyrically this is a extremely malevolent tune about an apparently psychopathic/sociopathic/schizophrenic miscreant who will go to no end to kill his victim because of “the voices in my head.”

13) Turning Blue- 8.2- Eh, it’s a decent track, but comparatively it’s just ok. For some reason it doesn’t do all that much for me.

14) Puppet Man- 9.2- Cool, catchy, funny, somewhat short.

15) Waiting For Something- 9.9- Sums up Jay’s outlook on the people around him and his situation at the time. Waiting for something bigger to happen and get away from all the “creeps” surrounding him. Perfect title for the brief documentary on him, which I advise all fans to check out!

Grade: A: A fantastic example of modern punk music with undeniable pop hooks and elements of noise rock. One can hear glimpses of the incredible (noisy) pop Jay and his crew unleash in their future material.

Chris

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NPR Says Goodbye

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“As most of you know by now, Jay Reatard has died at the age of 29.

It’s a sad day for music, because we lost a guy who made the kind of songs most of us, in our heart of hearts, really love. We love his music because, before we got all worldly and esoteric in our tastes, all we wanted was for our music to rumble and roar, to give us that teenage feeling forever.

Jay Reatard made great rock music; garage-y, fuzzed-out and pounding. Songs like “My Shadow” were staples on a lot of mixes that I made for friends. And I’m listening to “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” as I type this.

In L.A. tonight, there is a jam for the late Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton. I hope the folks on that bill give a shoutout to Jay Reatard. I don’t know for sure, but I imagine that Reatard was a fan of Asheton. Both were players who had trust in the singular hypnotic engine that is rock ‘n’ roll.

Finally, I saw this video over at Brooklyn Vegan and wanted to share it here, as well. It’s nice to veer into Jay’s world for a bit. Jay Reatard, you will be missed.”- http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2010/01/jay_reatard_rip.html

I thought that was “nice.” lol Clearly his music had a great effect on many including myself.

Chris

humor, Music, Random

Memories W/ Jay

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I got acknowledged by Jay Reatard twice in my life. Two times in the same night, as a matter of fact. The first was admittedly awkward. I saw Jay walk by before the show (at Harpers Ferry, October 2) so I said to him as he passed, “Hey Jay, I love you man.” I didn’t really notice his reaction, because he kept walking, but some people close to me have said that he smirked. The other meeting occured a short time later; Jay was chilling near the front of the stage so I said “Hey Jay, your last record is really awesome.” He responded! He said, “Thanks, man.” Of course, I was a creep, but whatever!

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An Ugly Death….

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Memphis Garage Rocker Jay Reatard Dead at 29

1/13/10, 5:02 pm EST

Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard, who broke out last year thanks to Watch Me Fall, has died at the age of 29, Reatard’s label Matador Records confirmed. According to Memphis’ Commercial Appeal, Reatard was found dead in his Memphis home at 3:30 am this morning and reportedly died in his sleep. “We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist,” Matador Records said in a statement. “We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.” Watch Reatard perform “Blood Visions” last month in Atlanta in the video above.

“Since 1998’s Teenage Hate, Memphian Jay “Reatard” Lindsey, 29, has spit enough pissed-off, low-fi garage punk to become DIY royalty,” Will Hermes wrote in his three-and-a-half star review of Watch Me Fall. “There’s also choral sugar, dub effects, sweet guitar cascades and mad hooks. On the majestic closer, alongside a sad cello, he insists, ‘There is no sun.’ With sound this blazingly bright, who needs it?”

In 2008, Beck recruited Reatard to record a cover of Modern Guilt’s “Gamma Ray” for the B side of that song’s single. For last year’s Record Store Day, Reatard’s “Hang Them All” was featured on a split 7” with Sonic Youth’s “No Garage.” Reatard also recently opened for the Pixies during their run of Doolittle concerts. On their Facebook page, the Pixies wrote “We want to express our condolences to the friends and family of Jay Reatard, on his sudden passing today.”

– Rolling Stone

RIP Jay, you are immortal through your music, some of the best damn rock and roll my ears have had the privilege of hearing.

Chris

Boston based shows/fests – DIY, punk, noise