Jimmie Higgins
15th January 2010, 19:01
I'm really into the wave of garage/lo-fi music in the US punk scene right now - I think it's the best time for DIY rock since the early 90s. Jay Reatard was probably the best known and had the most crossover potential since he was more pop-punk than weirdo psych and had a cleaner more potentially radio-friendly take on garage-punk.
One quote I read about him was: "Kurt Cobain killed hair metal, Jay Reatard will kill Emo". Unfortunately he never got that chance. He wasn't may favorite (I thought his latest album stunk) but I did hope he would become more high-profile and popular help usher in the next wave of US punk popularity that could speak to some of the recession-angst in the youth population now. I call it angry-happy Obama music... hopefull but paranoid, utopian but cynical, punk but flower-power... all the strange contradictions of the general social atmosphere right now. We live in strange, angry, crazy times... we need culture that actually reflects that anger, passion, and craziness.
Last night I went to see Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, the Mayyers, and the Ganglians perform in an awesome S.F. bear-bar that transformed into a huge sweaty and sublime mosh-pit. There wasn't a better way to celebrate the passion and loud music that people like Jay Reatard have given to the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/14/jay-reatard (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/14/jay-reatard)
One quote I read about him was: "Kurt Cobain killed hair metal, Jay Reatard will kill Emo". Unfortunately he never got that chance. He wasn't may favorite (I thought his latest album stunk) but I did hope he would become more high-profile and popular help usher in the next wave of US punk popularity that could speak to some of the recession-angst in the youth population now. I call it angry-happy Obama music... hopefull but paranoid, utopian but cynical, punk but flower-power... all the strange contradictions of the general social atmosphere right now. We live in strange, angry, crazy times... we need culture that actually reflects that anger, passion, and craziness.
Last night I went to see Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, the Mayyers, and the Ganglians perform in an awesome S.F. bear-bar that transformed into a huge sweaty and sublime mosh-pit. There wasn't a better way to celebrate the passion and loud music that people like Jay Reatard have given to the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/14/jay-reatard (http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/14/jay-reatard)