[batreleaser]

I just wanted to make a thread about this guy as I've been thinking about his music and his personality/reputation as of late. When I first heard about the guy, he was already signed to Matador, hanging out with Bradford Cox from Deerhunter, wearing all these trendy clothes, and every press release saying he's like a god of garage rock or some shit. I didnt need to think twce about whethr I was interested or no (I wasn't). I then heard "Blood Visions" for the first time and was still left totally unimpressed. Just another goofy lo fi pop punk record I thought. Then I was talking to my friend about rock n roll, and he mentiond Jay Reatard and I told him my experiences so far. He burned me Reatards'"Bedroom Disasters" and "Teenage Hate". Both are FANTASTIC. Super pissed off and distorted passages of melodies and hooks and Jay's ucking awesome vocals and lyrics. I realized that Reatard is not a pussy, hes just wierd. Did you guys see the video of him goin all Rollins on some fan, dude just beat the shit out of him. After totally digging he Reatards my friend told me Jay was in more bands, al of which are good. He gave me the Lost Sounds "S/T", I thought it was good, didn't blow me away though. And finally, he gave me the Angry Angles 7 inches, which is my favorite stuff Reatard has dne so far. A perfect homage to classic angular post punk and new wave heavily influenced by Devo and Wire. It seems to me that Jay Reatard might actually be something of a creative genius, as he seems to have his thing(s) down to a tee, experimenting in different genres but remaining true to a certin aesthetic. I guess I'll check out more Jay Reatard albums, I just can't see anything being as good as Angry Angles and theearly Reatards.

[Bollocks_to_Pop]

I recently got the Matador Singles '08 cd by him and I can't stop listening to it. I went ahead and bought off ebay some of the singles from the cd because of it. Really, really great stuff. I still have to get some of his earlier stuff though. I read in a recent interview that his new album will have more acoustic guitar. Should be interesting to hear either way.

Oh and apparently about that vid with him punching the guy, the crowd was thowing stuff at him and his equipment, so it wasn't just out of the blue, "I'm gonna punch a fan" thing.

[demonrail666]

Yeah. I'm really into him/his stuff.

This is proper.

[batreleaser]

No I know, that guy deserved to get his ass kicked. I like a dude that doesn't act like a tough guy but can pack a mean fuckin punh when he has too. Not to sound arrogant, but that's kinda like me. I am not very intimidating looking, only about 5'8, though probably more so now that I packed on a surgery 20 lbs (I actually like it though, being too skinny sucks I think, my whole life I was teeeeeeny, like 28 waist, now im up to 34, and to be honest I feel a lot healtheier) but I have surprised guys twice as big as me. I took boxing lessons from age 12 to 16 and just having that training makes it ridiculously easy for me to fight. Basically, if you go into a fight without fear, and then make sure you NEVER drop your left, and keep your balance, you can probably bait anyone into an ass kicking. I was in a fight once, in the ring, when was 15, and was fighting at 17 year old. For three rounds he was just killing me, throwing 10 punches to my one, but he never landed a clean blow to my head. By round number four I got the perfect oppurtune moment as he stepped back after throwing a punch and then dropped his left, face totally exposed, and BANG! lights out. fighting is fun i think.

[dionysusundone]

I haven't heard the Angry Angles, but I really dig his Terror Vision project, sounds like it's along the same vein. I haven't kept up with his recent stuff really though.

[Decayed Rhapsody]

Cocaine.

[Toilet & Bowels]

to me he sounds like the libertines or the jam, only faster

[demonrail666]

Shit, I just listened to that clip I linked and can totally see what you mean about the Jam/Libertines thing. A definite black pudding moment: liking something until discovering what it actually is.

[atsonicpark]

Never heard this retard guy.

[DJ Rick]

I met Jay when he made his Reatards tour with The Wongs out to the West Coast....He was maybe 16 years old then, and all I knew was the first few singles and that he supposedly started a band to open for his hometown heroes the Oblivians. "You Got So Much Soul" from his 1st 7" back in 1995 or so was so off-the-charts unjaded and energetic that is was pretty formative in my growing interest in garagepunk. Before that, I was into noisy and arty stuff, but otherwise, I was pretty much a hardcore kid. I thought I had to be listening to something important and/or political or smart all the time, and while I'd be reading in MRR about how garage was something that was really happenin' at the time, I didn't understand how garage was supposed to speak to a hardcore kid like me.....I mean, I DON'T SWILL PBR and GO TO DRAG RACES?!?! But that first Reatards 7" was a stepping stone toward a new obsession for me.

When I met Jay, I was practically gushing with amazement that he was there sitting on the couch in the lounge of KDVS. I treated him like some kinda high-level dignitary and said shit like "Wow...It's really an honor to meet you, man...You've done so much at you're age...it's unbelievable, really!" But he was so gracious accepting this praise. I was pretty impressed with such a display of maturity. Turns out that was some kinda fluke, though....Dude's really bristly these days. It's understandable, I guess....Now that he's majorly hyped, he plays big shows packed fulla hype-required-to-give-attention come-latelies and hip douchebags, and gone are the days of rockin' out with friends and fans in more intimate settings.

I've not been as big a fan of some of the most recent singles material he's made, but it still furthers the evidence that the guy really has the perfect pop perfection formula down pat. Blood Visions to me sounds like a landmark pop album with still some palpably punk moments. Every song has a part that sounds exactly like some other legendary influential band, but it moves from the Cars one moment to the Wipers the next and then the Cure, Devo, Ramones, The Jam, Big Star, and who knows what else. I swear that he stole that riff from "My Family" from a little-known French band called the Anteenagers MC whose first single is one of the best punk 7"es of this decade...if not THEE #1 best. Kudos for looking where almost nobody is aware of, I guess! (Funny thing is that NoBunny unwittingly re-appropriated that riff on his fan-fave song "I Am a Girlfriend".)

Due to my last dealings with him (booked a show in late '07 for him in Davis), I don't ever wanna book him again. A lotta hassle to be treated like shit. Dude was a total heel. But I'd go see him play again....he does always bring it.

Lotsa newer fans can't get over the fact that he plays every song at double-speed live. He compresses about 15 songs into 18 minutes of fury and then unceremoniously walks off the stage. That's most shows I've seen anyway. Seen him maybe 9-10 times.

Angry Angles is worth tracking down, but expect to play collector prices. I'm happy to have had these records since they were new.

Lost Sounds is full of great moments on nearly all of their records. Most were also issued on CD to make it easier to find for down-to-earth prices. Some Reatards stuff, too. Terror Visions is alright, I guess, but as far as "synthpunk" goes, I can think of a dozen or so who do it better: Leaders, Mac Blackout, Octagon Control, Leper Print, Total Control, etc. And none of that can shake a stick at the totally uncharacteristic stab that Dan Melchior made at synthpunk on the A-side of "The Post Office Line" 7".

[batreleaser]

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels

to me he sounds like the libertines or the jam, only faster

then you havnt been listening

[batreleaser]

hes a helluva songwriter too, which is something i dont think h gets enough credit for.

I don't like his songs.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by batreleaser

then you havnt been listening

all i have to go on is the time i saw him play

[Bollocks_to_Pop]

Originally Posted by DJ Rick

Due to my last dealings with him (booked a show in late '07 for him in Davis), I don't ever wanna book him again. A lotta hassle to be treated like shit. Dude was a total heel. But I'd go see him play again....he does always bring it.

That's sorta sad/disappointing to hear. Btw Rick, I heard that you are the one who books shows at Luigi's Fungarden in Sacramento. If that's true, then I'd just like to thank you for booking some awesome bands.

Got an e-mail from Jay with tour dates:
Thu June 11 - San Diego @ Casbah with The Oh Sees + Earthmen and Strangers
Fri June 12 - Los Angeles @ The Echo with Thee Oh Sees + Earthmen and Strangers
Sat June 13 - San Francisco @ The Independent with Thee Oh Sees + Earthmen and Stangers
Mon June 15 - Seattle @ Crocodile Cafe with Thee Oh Sees
Tue June 16 - Vancouver @ Biltmore
Wed June 17 - Portland @ Dante's with The Oh Sees + NIce Boys
Fri June 26 - Chicago @ Bottom Lounge with TV Smith of the Adverts
Sat June 27 - Detroit @ Magic Stick with TV Smith of the Adverts
Sun June 28 - Cleveland @ Grog Shop with TV Smith of the Adverts
Mon June 29 - Toronto @ Mod Club with TV Smith of the Adverts
Tue June 30 - Montreal @ La Sala Rossa with TV Smith of the Adverts
Wed July 1 - New York City @ Stuyvesant Oval, FREE
Thu July 2 - Brooklyn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg with TV Smith of the Adverts
Fri July 3 - Allston, MA @ Harper's Ferry with TV Smith of the Adverts
Sun July 5 - Washington DC @ Black Cat with TV Smith of the Adverts
Tue July 7 - Asheville @ Orange Peel with TV Smith of the Adverts
Wed July 8 - Knoxville @ Pilot Light with TV Smith of the Adverts
Thu July 9 - Nashville @ The End with TV Smith of the Adverts
Fri July 10 - Memphis @ Hi-Tone Café with TV Smith of the Adverts
Sat July 11 - Oxford MS @ Proud Larry's with TV Smith of the Adverts

[batreleaser]

Originally Posted by Toilet & Bowels

all i have to go on is the time i saw him play

his newer stuff has that kinda softness about it, pansyness, but the reatards and angry angles and lost sounds are all waaaaaaay more vicous than the jam.

[batreleaser]

holy shit, the advers-one chord wonders is my favorite song of all time. i gota check out that tour.

[DJ Rick]

Originally Posted by Bollocks_to_Pop

That's sorta sad/disappointing to hear. Btw Rick, I heard that you are the one who books shows at Luigi's Fungarden in Sacramento. If that's true, then I'd just like to thank you for booking some awesome bands.

I started out doing all the booking for the first few months, but they didn't much like the more experimental or noisier bands that I often bring through here. Since November, I only occasionally book a show there, and only if I know that it's gonna be a good draw and something that stylistically won't make the owners fret too much. I book shows wherever I can in Sacto and Davis....that means people's houses as much as anything else. The 300 Room in West Sac is the best place, though! It's like a scene in Happy Days...the place is frozen in time and it's surely the natural habitat of raw, wylde fun times.

[Bollocks_to_Pop]

Originally Posted by DJ Rick

The 300 Room in West Sac is the best place, though! It's like a scene in Happy Days...the place is frozen in time and it's surely the natural habitat of raw, wylde fun times.

I'll have to check that place out it sounds awesome. Thanks for letting me know about that!