Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Jay Reatard - Singles 06-07 (2008)

Posted by awmercy | Labels: , , , , ,

Hell yeah! Finally. Although I've been rocking some of these songs for a while, picking up the random track off a single, this collection fills in some holes. Jay Reatard specializes in quick and poppy Ramones-influenced punk rock. He packs a lot into less than 3 minutes: choruses, organ riffs, changing speeds, guitar hooks, oohs and aahs. It's all there. He compresses and mashes pieces of songs together in a way that makes the songs feel full and complete. He growls, sings, hollers, and coos, sometimes all in one song. The first nine or so songs are must for anyone who liked Blood Visions. "Another Person" and "All Over Again" are two of his best songs. The last five songs are earlier versions of some of the better tracks off the album and while still good, they aren't a revelation or all that necessary. "It So Useless" is another must listen.

5 comments:

Mona said...

I must ask based on your description of his musicality. On a scale of 1 to 10, how Andrew WK is this guy?

Also, on the last name. Is it Reatard like "he's so reatarded!" or Reatard like "rhymes with leotard."

Thank you :)

July 23, 2008 9:36 AM  
awmercy said...

Hmmm. AWK's music rooted in metal, pop, and maybe dance. JR follows the punk lineage. I wouldn't say they sound alike.

Have you listened to AWK?

July 23, 2008 10:12 AM  
Mona said...

Hhahah, I had no idea what JR sounds like and of course I've listened to AWK. I just find it silly to bring everything back to him, related or unrelated :) Plus, in that white tee he kinda looks like AWK during his dirtier looking phase.

I was serious about his last name pronunciation though. I'm curious. I spent years wondering if The Notwist was "The Not-Twist" or "The No-Twist."

July 23, 2008 11:27 AM  
awmercy said...

It's true. JR's album art is oddly similar to AWK's. Apparently, they both love the bloodied look. I think I initially ignored Blood Visions just because of the image. Big mistake. Oh well.

Not sure how to pronounce his name.

July 23, 2008 11:48 AM  
awmercy said...

I can't believe we are going to get another Jay Reatard compilation later this year. Judging from the singles I've heard it's going to be awesome.

August 26, 2008 3:45 PM  

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