RIP Jay Reatard

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Jay, but this came as a shock to me. Very sad.

Jay Reatard Has Died

Update | 8:48 p.m. Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., the Memphis musician better known by his punk-rock stage name Jay Reatard, has died, his record label Goner Records said on Wednesday. In a statement posted at goner-records.com, the label said: “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.”

Susan Thorp, a spokeswoman for the Shelby County Medical Examiner, said on Wednesday evening that an autopsy had been performed on Mr. Lindsey. Ms. Thorp said that a cause of death had not been determined and that officials were “waiting on lab results.”

Matador Records, which also released Jay Reatard’s music, said in a statement: “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. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.”

In an article for The New York Times, Mike Rubin wrote that Jay Reatard’s debut solo album “Blood Visions” revealed “Mr. Lindsey’s talent for distilling punk songwriting to its most elemental form, a mix of adrenaline, testosterone and sugary hooks. Delivered in an ersatz English accent, songs like ‘My Shadow’ were reminiscent of late-1970s British punk, particularly bands like Wire and the Adverts, whose former leader, TV Smith, was tapped by Mr. Lindsey as the opening act for his recent tour.”

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/record-label-says-jay-reatard-has-died/

Just read this BR. Sad indeed. I only came across his stuff about 4 years ago and I've a few of his albums - 'Watch Me Fall', 'Not fu**ed Enough' and 'Bedroom Disasters'. Which i haven't listened to enough recently tho'......giving 'Watch me...' a rattle at the mo'......... "It Ain't Gonna Save Me"  

 RIP Jay:

Jay Reatard - "It Ain't Gonna Save Me"

EDIT:

I was just listening to 'Watch Me Fall' and it got me to thinking as to why i (an old codger) still love acts/bands like Jay. A bit deep, i know, but i found this quote that sums it up for me:

"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."

 

RIP Jay. Heard about this last night. 29 is far too young to die. Tragic.