Poly Styrene of punk rock 70’s act X-Ray Specs passed away last night in her sleep. She passed peacefully but was fighting breast cancer that spread to her lungs and spine. She was 54-years-old.
Sadly, today was the release of her new solo album called Generation Indigo.
Bad news for folk who have a love for 80’s movies. Corey Haim was found dead today from an apparent overdose. He was 38 years old.
When I think of Corey Haim I immediately think of one of my all time favorite vampire movies. The Lost Boys will always be a favorite of mine…
Then there was License To Drive…
RIP Corey Haim. Thanks for making me laugh throughout the years.
In a recent blog, I posted the news about Jay Reatard‘s death. At the time it was undetermined about how he died but apparently his death is now being investigated as a homicide. According to The L.A. Record Memphis Police are looking for a possible suspect in the musician’s death.
Hearing this I decided to so some internet surfing and found out some interesting info…
It appears as if Jay Reatard had some hate towards someone according to Exclaim.ca. Reading though the article it stated that Reatard had beef with New Jersey band Liquor Store.The garage punk outfit allegedly slashed the tires on Reatard’s tour van recently and Reatard did not take it lightly.
What is crazier is I read the last Twitter posted by Jay Reatard on 01/11/2010 at 3:24PM:
@jayreatard – “I will give anyone a hundred bucks per tire that they pop on the band liquor stores van ! Yes I’m serious”
So who is this Liquor Store band and why did they slash Reatard’s tires in the first place? Not trying to be CSI BHP here but looking at their MySpace page I noticed they just so happened to be in Tennessee for a couple of shows…right around the time Reatard was discovered dead.
Coincidence? Only time will tell…
Regardless the world lost a good artist who may not have been well known but really made in impact with his style.
UPDATE:
According to a post on the Terminal Boredom message board, Reatard threatened members of Liquor Store with a chainsaw and hit a band member in the face with a disco ball.
Wait… did you say a chainsaw and a disco ball? Well no wonder they slashed his tires! Still the cause on the initial brawl is still unknown at this time as well as there is no proof that foul play has been involved.
Nashville Scene posted funeral information as well as supplied a Fox News cache to a story that was pulled off the internet.
Matador Records posted funeral information as well as well a personal entry from Matador co-owner/Matablog blogger Gerard Cosloy:
I was on a flight to NY this afternoon and when I landed there were about two dozen text messages about Jay Reatard’s passing. It is the height of understatement to say I’m upset, confused and deeply saddened by the loss of one of the more amazing people I’ve been fortunate to know. In record company parlance, yeah, we’ve lost (let’s go down the checklist) a phenomenal performer, songwriter, and insatiable music lover. But we’ve lost a great friend as well, and that’s the part that hurts the most.
We’re not the only ones feeling that way right now, obviously. Jay’s friends all over the country, heck, all over the world are dealing with this. I know his various scrapes over the years have made for cheap internet fodder, but the people who cared about him are gonna remember a real person that mattered to them. Our thoughts are with that very large group of people this evening.
Check out this well done short documentary on Jay Reatard:
Waiting For Something – a short documentary about Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard | MySpace Music Videos
Sad news in the punk / rock / indie music world. According to The Commercial Appeal garage rocker Jay Reatard was found dead in his home today. He was 29 years old.
Matador Records had this to say:
We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.
Death & Taxes Magazine confirmed with:
Jay Reatard, Memphis rocker and current cover feature of Death + Taxes Magazine, has been reported dead. He was found at approximately 3:30 a.m. in his bed this morning. This statement has been posted on the website of Goner Records: “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.”
Rest in Peace, Jay. Thank you for the insane memories and incredible music; we’ll miss you, and we’re very grateful for having had the chance to speak with you.
This is one of my favorite songs by Jay Reatard…
RIP Jay.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute… With less than 10 hours to go I give you my Best / Worst list of 2009. Mind you none of these are in order/ranked, they are just the best / worst I have been pondering over all year long… Enjoy.
Best Albums:
Best Unreleased Album:
Worst Albums:
On The Fence About Albums:
Guilty Pleasure Albums:
Best Box Set Released:
Best Anthology Released:
Best Festival I Attended:
Best Shows I Attended:
Loudest Show I Attended (EVER):
Most Unsuspecting Show I Attended (with good reason):
Worst Show I Attended:
Best Local Acts I Saw Live:
Best Movies:
Worst Movies:
Movie That You Should Not Watch When Your Heart Aches:
Best TV Show:
The Awesome:
The Suck:
RIP (there were plenty more but these are ones that stuck with me):
So with just a few hours left I would like to say goodbye to 2009. It was a fun and incredibly rough year for me. I see big things happening in 2010 for me.
Resolutions? A couple I suppose…
Do you have a best of you wish to share or do you think I overlooked someone? Let me know. Email me at broken@brokenheadphones.com or comment below. I want to hear from you!