Jay Reatard 5/1/80 - 1/13/10

Indie rock has lost its hero. Over the past decade plus, Jimmy Lee Lindsey pushed the boundaries of punk rock. In the process, he made some amazing records. At only age 29, Jay Reatard had already amassed quite a prolific portfolio of albums, singles, and ex-bandmates. Everyone knows about his volatility when it came to bandmates as well as meddlesome fans. What could be called anger issues could also be considered defending his art. He did not suffer mediocrity lightly. His perfectionism and talent shown through more with every effort. He was simply the indie artist of the decade.

His work with the Reatards was limited but extremely fun and enjoyable. The Lost Sounds were a great experiment. The Final Solutions, Bad Times, Terror Visions, and Destruction Unit were all fine diversions that really just served as a filter that Jay sang through. With only two full length albums and a slew of singles, Jay was finally coming into his own as a solo artist. Blood Visions is a truly great album but the singles collections showed a different side of the Reatard. One of the truly saddest parts of his death is that he was so hardworking and that is how he became great. He experimented with his music for 11 years and was reaching his creative apex. And he was still only 29 years old. I'm a year older than him and I don't know that I've had as many original ideas as he had songs. But if Watch Me Fall is truly the last thing we ever hear from this brilliant artist, there are worse epitaphs.

Here is the last track off of Watch Me Fall, "A Whisper"

Quarter Century Review: New Day Rising

This is going to be a new segment I do on here because I just don't have the time or resources to review every album that is released new and, frankly, I wanted a recurring deal on the site. This is not meant as just reviewing a classic album. That is too obvious. The real meaning of "review" here is to review whether the album has stood the test of time or perhaps become greater over time. I will be doing this 25 years from the original release date for albums throughout the year. So let's begin:

Hüsker Dü
New Day Rising
SST
Produced by Hüsker Dü and Spot

As no one knows the exact day this album was released (a great example of how SST Records did business), we are just going to re-experience this one today. Hüsker Dü came up through the hardcore ranks in the early eighties via Minneapolis. Their extremely loud though equally melodic balance paved the way for other local bands (Replacements, Soul Asylum) to receive mainstream attention. The band would go on to a major label themselves on the strength of their opus Zen Arcade and this, shorter but hardly lesser, gem. This album is really what kept SST Records in business while the band never really saw the proper return off of it.

SST house producer Spot usually seemed to go out of his way to stifle the powerful sounds of the label's roster. In a bit of what I guess was luck, he just sat back and got out of the way to let the band do their thing. At this point in time, the songwriting of Bob Mould and Grant Hart was at its apex. It was less about experimenting, the likes of Zen Arcade, and more about honesty and, perhaps, transparency. The songs are relatable, loud, and loaded with hooks and, unlike their hardcore peers, not angry. They showed that you could have loud and emotional without being cheesy. There is real sentiment but no one would ever confuse Hüsker Dü with Journey. That being said, the album does devolve over the last 4 songs as if they were just filling space, knowing their defection was imminent.

As far as jumping from the storied SST label to Warner Bros., it was about survival. New Day Rising was one of many simultaneous SST releases. And while all the records received the same amount of promotion (none), New Day Rising was the only one selling. Black Flag was in limbo and The Minutemen had lost frontman D. Boon to a tragic car wreck, so Hüsker Dü was, for all intents and purposes, the only SST band. If they wanted to see any return on their hard work, they had to leave. Though they didn't last much longer after their departure, we still have this to remember them by.

Overall Grade=8.53

Mixtape 2009

Here is an interesting (hopefully) mix CD track listing to encapsulate the strange year in music:

1. "Sacred Trickster," Sonic Youth - 2:11
2. "Hindsight," Built To Spill - 3:38
3. "Zero," Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 4:26
4. "Fitz And The Dizzyspells," Andrew Bird - 3:37
5. "Pieces," Dinosaur Jr - 4:32
6. "To Save Me," M. Ward - 3:02
7. "Spellbound," Lacuna Coil - 3:21
8. "Running To The Edge Of The World," Marilyn Manson - 6:26
9. "Bible Black," Heaven & Hell - 6:27
10. "Pharoahs," Neko Case - 3:38
11. "Land Of The Dead," Misfits - 2:13
12. "Train Song," Feist + Ben Gibbard - 3:02
13. "The Palace At 4 A.M.," A.C. Newman - 3:23
14. "Death Threat," My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - 4:33
15. "Beautiful Things," Quasi - 3:42
16. "Undesirable," Jemina Pearl - 3:20
17. "Non-Entity," Nine Inch Nails - 4:03
18. "The Living North," Cymbals Eat Guitars - 2:32
19. "French Navy," Camera Obscura - 3:18
20. "Lives," The Entrance Band - 4:51
21. "I Have No Fun," Vivian Girls - 1:28
22. "Rotten Mind," Jay Reatard - 2:20
23. "Gentle Sons," The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - 4:29

Total Time = 79:51

Top Albums Of 2009

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Slumberland
2. Death - ...For The Whole World To See, Drag City
3. Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall, Matador
4. Built To Spill - There Is No Enemy, Warner Bros.
5. Sonic Youth - The Eternal, Matador
6. Dinosaur Jr - Farm, Jagjaguwar
7. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains, self-released
8. Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - The Audacity Of Hype, Alternative Tentacles
9. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast, Fat Possum
10. Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another, 4AD
11. Entrance Band, Ecstatic Peace
12. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career, 4AD
13. Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know, Rhino
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz, Interscope
15. A.C. Newman - Get Guilty, Matador
16. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns, Parlophone
17. Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life, Century Media
18. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone, ANTI-
19. Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong, In The Red
20. Jemina Pearl - Break It Up, Ecstatic Peace
21. Megadeth - Endgame, Roadrunner
22. Mission Of Burma - The Sound The Speed The Light, Matador
23. Slayer - World Painted Blood, American/Sony
24. Iggy Pop - Préliminaires, Astralwerks
25. Dark Was The Night: A Red Hot Compilation, 4AD

Best Of '00s

Everyone else is doing it, so why not me?

Top Albums Of The Decade

1. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic, 2000
2. Nina Gordon - Tonight And The Rest Of My Life, 2000
3. Lacuna Coil - Comalies, 2002
4. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, 2007
5. A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms, 2000
6. The Distillers - Coral Fang, 2003
7. Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill, 2004
8. Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk, 2001
9. Mark Lanegan Band - Bubblegum, 2004
10. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor, 2005
11. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08, 2008
12. Elliott Smith - Figure 8, 2000
13. Ministry - Houses Of The Molé, 2004
14. The New Pornographers - Challengers, 2007
15. Sonic Youth - Murray Street, 2002
16. Explosions In The Sky - Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever, 2001
17. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP, 2001
18. The Darkness - Permission To Land, 2003
19. Danzig - The Lost Tracks Of Danzig, 2007
20. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!, 2000
21. Billy Idol - Devil's Playground, 2005
22. Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life, 2008
23. Ministry - Animositisomina, 2003
24. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, 2009
25. Shakira - Laundry Service, 2001
26. Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf, 2003
27. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions, 2006
28. Poe - Haunted, 2000
29. Be Your Own Pet, 2006
30. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, 2007
31. Broken Social Scene, 2005
32. Fucked Up - Hidden World, 2006
33. Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse, 2004
34. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, 2007
35. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind, 2000
36. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - The Reincarnation Of Luna, 2001
37. Elliott Smith - New Moon, 2007
38. The Distillers - 2000
39. Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death, 2006
40. R.E.M. - Accelerate, 2008
41. Death - ...For The Whole World To See, 2009
42. Beyoncé - I Am...Sasha Fierce, 2008
43. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away, 2007
44. Shakira - Oral Fixation, 2005
45. Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward, 2008
46. Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound, 2007
47. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas, 2006
48. Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, 2005
49. A Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band With Choir - Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upwards, 2001
50. Ministry - Rio Grande Blood, 2006

Top Songs Of The Decade

1. “King's Crossing," Elliott Smith from From A Basement On The Hill, 2004 (Elliott Smith)
2. "Casino Nanaimo,” The Besnard Lakes from Casino Nanaimo, 2007 (Lasek/Goreas)
3. "For All These Things That I Have Done,” The Killers from Hot Fuss, 2004 (Brandon Flowers)
4. “The Rat,” The Walkmen from Bows + Arrows, 2004 (Barrick/Bauer/Leithauser/Maroon/Martin)
5. “3 Libras,” A Perfect Circle from Mer de Noms, 2000 (Keenan/Howerdel)
6. “Halo,” Beyoncé from I Am...Sasha Fierce, 2008 (Knowles/Bogart/Tedder)
7. “Knockers,” The Darkness from One Ticket To Hell...And Back, 2005 (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins/Poullain)
8. “Stan,” Eminem featuring Dido from The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000 (Mathers/Armstrong/Herman)
9. “Party Hard,” Andrew WK from I Get Wet, 2001 (Andrew Wilkes-Krier)
10. “A Sorta Fairytale,” Tori Amos from Scarlet's Walk, 2001 (Tori Amos)
11. “Threshold Apprehension,” Black Francis from Bluefinger, 2007 (Charles Thompson)
12. “Mass Romantic,” The New Pornographers from Mass Romantic, 2000 (A.C. Newman)
13. “Vicarious,” Tool from 10,000 Days, 2006 (Carey/Chancellor/Jones/Keenan)
14. “Supernatural Superserious,” R.E.M. from Accelerate, 2008 (Buck/Mills/Stipe)
15. “Haunted,” Poe from Haunted, 2000 (Danielewski/Elizondo/O'Brien)
16. “Safe Home,” Anthrax from We've Come For You All, 2003 (Benante/Ian/Bello/Bush/Caggiano)
17. “Underneath Your Clothes,” Shakira from Laundry Service, 2001 (Mebarak/Mendez)
18. “City Of Angels,” The Distillers from Sing Sing Death House, 2002 (Brody Dalle)
19. “No Way Back," Foo Fighters from In Your Honor, 2005 (Grohl/Hawkins/Mendel/Shiflett)
20. “Heaven's A Lie,” Lacuna Coil from Comalies, 2002 (Biazzi/Coti Zelati/Ferro/Migliore/Mozzati/Scabbia)
21. “Wonderboy,” Tenacious D from Tenacious D, 2001 (Black/Gass)
22. “Something That You Said,” The Bangles from Doll Revolution, 2003 (Hoffs/Peterson/Caffey)
23. “Die Dead Enough,” Megadeth from The System Has Failed, 2004 (Dave Mustaine)
24. “Death Threat,” My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult from Death Threat, 2009 (Nardiello/Daley)
25. “Idle Hands,” The Gutter Twins from Saturnalia, 2008 (Dulli/Lanegan)
26. “No W,” Ministry from Houses Of The Molé, 2004 (Al Jourgensen)
27. “Just Like A Pill,” P!nk from M!ssundaztood, 2001 (Moore/Austin)
28. “Cold, Cold Rain,” Danzig from The Lost Tracks Of Danzig, 2007 (Glenn Anzalone)
29. “See/Saw,” Jay Reatard from Matador Singles '08, 2008 (Jimmie Lindsey)
30. “Walk On,” U2 from All That You Can't Leave Behind, 2001 (Clayton/Evans/Hewson/Mullen)
31. “Runnin' (Dying To Live),” 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. from Tupac Resurrection, 2003 (Shakur/Wallace/Harvey/Winter/Mathers/Resto)
32. “Sex On Fire,” Kings Of Leon from Only By The Night, 2008 (C. Followill/J. Followill/M. Followill/N. Followill)
33. “Zero,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs from It's Blitz, 2009 (Chase/Orzolek/Zinner)
34. “Futurama,” Non Phixion from The Future Is Now, 2002 (R. Braunstein/W. Braunstein/Manzanilla)
35. "Devasation," The Besnard Lakes from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, 2007 (Lasek/Goreas)
36. “Los Angeles Is Burning,” Bad Religion from The Empire Strikes First, 2004 (Graffin/Gurewitz)
37. “Unforgiven,” The Go-Go's from God Bless The Go-Go's, 2001 (Caffey/Wiedlin/Armstrong)
38. “Demon Speeding,” Rob Zombie from The Sinister Urge, 2001 (Cummings/Humphrey)
39. “Coin-Operated Boy,” The Dresden Dolls from The Dresden Dolls, 2004 (Amanda Palmer)
40. “Mojo,” Peeping Tom from Peeping Tom, 2006 (Patton/Nakamura)
41. “Missed The Boat,” Modest Mouse from We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, 2007 (Brock/Green/Judy/Marr/Peloso/Plummer)
42. “Christmas Lights,” Nina Gordon from Bleeding Heart Graffiti, 2006 (Nina Gordon)
43. “The Age Of Innocence,” Iron Maiden from Dance Of Death, 2003 (Murray/Harris)
44. “Bruiser,” The Misfits from Cuts From The Crypt, 2000 (Gerald Caiafa)
45. “You're The Only One,” Maria Mena from White Turns Blue, 2004 (Mena/Solvang)
46. “Oxygen,” Soul Asylum from The Silver Lining, 2006 (David Pirner)
47. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” The Darkness from Permission To Land, 2003 (J. Hawkins/D. Hawkins/Poullain/Graham)
48. “Fake Palindromes,” Andrew Bird from The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, 2005 (Andrew Bird)
49. “The Laws Have Changed,” The New Pornographers from Electric Version, 2003 (A.C. Newman)
50. “Closer (My Love),” Entwine from Gone, 2001 (Hanttu/Heikkonen/Miettinen/Mikkola/Tauriainen)
51. “That Teenage Feeling,” Neko Case from Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, 2006 (Neko Case)
52. “Sherri,” Billy Idol from Devil's Playground, 2005 (William Broad)
53. “Lose Yourself,” Eminem from 8 Mile, 2002 (Mathers/Bass/Resto)
54. “Vincent O'Brien,” M. Ward from Transfiguration Of Vincent, 2003 (Matt Ward)
55. “Right Where It Belongs,” Nine Inch Nails from With Teeth, 2005 (Trent Reznor)
56. “Kissing The Lipless,” The Shins from Chute Too Narrow, 2003 (James Mercer)
57. “Thrown Idols,” Airiel from The Battle Of Sealand, 2007 (Wrenn/Osbourne/Rungger/DeBrizzio)
58. “Archetype,” Fear Factory from Archetype, 2004 (Bell/Herrera/Wolbers)
59. “Like Eating Glass,” Bloc Party from Silent Alarm, 2005 (Lissack/Moakes/Okereke/Tong)
60. “My Idea Of Fun,” The Stooges from The Weirdness, 2007 (R. Asheton/S. Asheton/Osterberg)
61. “Red Red Red,” Fiona Apple from Extraordinary Machine, 2005 (Fiona Apple Maggart)
62. “Saints Of Los Angeles,” Mötley Crüe from Saints Of Los Angeles, 2008(Feranna/Michael/Ashba/Frederiksen)
63. “Capt Midnight,” Tomahawk from Mit Gas, 2003 (Denison/Patton/Rutmanis/Stanier)
64. “Yasmin The Light,” Explosions In The Sky from Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever, 2001 (Hrasky/James/Rayani/Smith)
65. “Umbrella,” Rihanna from Good Girl Gone Bad, 2007 (Carter/Harrell/Nash/Stewart)
66. “Fire Department,” Be Your Own Pet from Summer Sensation, 2006 (Abegg/Orall/Stein/Vasquez)
67. “Broken,” Bruce Dickinson from The Best Of Bruce Dickinson, 2001 (Dickinson/Ramirez)
68. “Ibi Dreams Of Pavement (A Better Day),” Broken Social Scene from Broken Social Scene, 2005(Benchetrit/Canning/Cranley/Drew/Millan/Peroff/Shaw/Whiteman)
69. “Easy Way Out,” Elliott Smith from Figure 8, 2000 (Elliott Smith)
70. “Teen Angst,” M83 from Before The Dawn Heals Us, 2005 (Anthony Gonzalez)
71. “Do It Again,” Nada Surf from The Weight Is A Gift, 2005 (Caws/Lorca/Elliot)
72. “The False Husband,” Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan from Ballad Of The Broken Seas, 2006 (Isobel Campbell)
73. “Count On My Love,” Liz Phair from Somebody's Miracle, 2005 (Phair/Shanks)
74. "Times Like These,” Foo Fighters from One By One, 2002 (Grohl/Hawkins/Mendel/Shiflett)
75. “Cult,” Slayer from Christ Illusion, 2006 (Kerry King)
76. “Bring Me To Life,” Evanescence from Fallen, 2003 (Moody/Lee/Hodges)
77. “Kim Gordon And The Arthur Doyle Hand Cream,” Sonic Youth from Sonic Nurse, 2004(Gordon/Moore/Ranaldo/O'Rourke)
78. “You Rock My World,” Michael Jackson from Invincible, 2001(Jackson/Daniels/Jerkins/Jerkins/Payne)
79. “Civilize The Universe,” Ozzy Osbourne from Black Rain, 2007 (Osbourne/Wielandt/Churko)
80. "September Sun,” Type O Negative from Dead Again, 2007 (Peter Steele)
81. “Baiting The Public,” Fucked Up from Hidden World, 2006(Abraham/Cook/Falco/Haliechuk/Miranda)
82. “Gentle Sons,” The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart from The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, 2009 (Berman/Feldman/Naidus/Wang-East)
83. “Doublewide,” Corrosion Of Conformity from America's Volume Dealer, 2000(Keenan/Weatherman/Dean/Mullin)
84. “Don't Bother,” Shakira from Oral Fixation Vol. 2, 2005 (Mebarak/Christy/Spock)
85. “Anything Goes,” AC/DC from Black Ice, 2008 (A. Young/M. Young)
86. “Under Your Spell,” Amber Benson from Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling, 2002 (Joss Whedon)
87. "Down To Earth,” Peter Gabriel from Wall-E: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2008(Gabriel/Newman)
88. "Gone Inside The Zero,” Rollins Band from Nice, 2001 (Garfield/Wilson/Mackenroth/Blake)
89. "Criminal Piece,” Ted Leo + The Pharmacists from Shake The Sheets, 2004 (Ted Leo)
90. "You Know You're Right,” Nirvana from Nirvana, 2002 (Kurt Cobain)
91. "Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé from B'Day, 2006 (Knowles/Björklund/Eriksen/Hermansen/Lind/Smith)
92. “Challengers,” The New Pornographers from Challengers, 2007 (A.C. Newman)
93. “Don't Stop,” The Rolling Stones from Forty Licks, 2002 (Jagger/Richards)
94. “Naked As We Came,” Iron And Wine from Our Endless Numbered Days, 2004 (Sam Beam)
95. “Your Time Has Come,” Audioslave from Out Of Exile, 2005 (Commerford/Cornell/Morello/Wilk)
96. “Revival,” Soulsavers featuring Mark Lanegan from It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land, 2007 (Lanegan/Machin/Glover)
97. “Y Control,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Fever To Tell, 2003 (Chase/Orzolek/Zinner)
98. “Lateralus,” Tool from Lateralus, 2001 (Carey/Chancellor/Jones/Keenan)
99. "Bam Thwok,” Pixies iTunes exclusive single (Kim Deal)
100. "Lieslieslies,” Ministry from Rio Grande Blood, 2006 (Al Jourgensen)