Shit's Awes0me: Jay Reatard

In early 2010, one of the greatest contemporary rock musicians died, he was the man behind awes0me bands like Lost Sounds, Destruction Unit and of course Reatards and his solo material released as Jay Reatard, his name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. and he died an unfortunate, drug related death on the 13th of January 2010, when he was just 29 years old. Jimmy left behind an incredible amount of great, raw garage music, which I would love to tell the world about. His solo work is fairly well known, but bands like Destruction Unit or Nervous Patterns happen to be fairly unknown, even 'though their music is absolutely fabulous.

For those who don't know Jay Reatard or on of the numerous bands he played in: Jay is known for his very raw, energetic, yet melodic kind of garage rock. Some of his projects were more on the traditional, punky side of the spectrum, like Reatards, some contain more electronic elements, like Lost Sounds and Nervous Patterns. What amazes me the most about Jay's recordings is that almost any song has an incredible level of catchiness. Even 'though he released somewhere between 10 and 20 albums and a shitload of 7"', it never gets weak, looking for a weak spot in his music is like looking for Ramones vinyl in an Iranian mosque.


To get a bit in the mood, here is one of Jimmy's more well-known works:


What Jay used to do when he was young:


Some awes0me Nervous Patterns stuff:


And last but not least: Lost Sounds.



I would really recommend to look for some of those releases, because, really, I couldn't imagine any garage lover being disappointed by his awes0meness.

Rest in peace, dear Jimmy,

Selwin.