Jay Reatard, self-portrait, December 9, 2009 via TWITTER
NEW YORK TIMES: A medical examiner said that cocaine and alcohol had contributed to the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., the punk rock musician better known as Jay Reatard, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported. After an autopsy Dr. Karen E. Chancellor, the medical examiner of Shelby County, Tenn., told The Commercial Appeal that Mr. Lindsey, above, had died from “cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.” MORE
PREVIOUSLY ON PHAWKER: Just heard back from a trusted and informed source on the ground in Memphis who tells us the “Jay Reatard was murdered” meme is a dog that won’t hunt. It all started when the local Fox News affiliate blared the news that the homicide division of the Memphis police department was investigating Reatard’s death, failing to mention that that is standard procedure for all DOAs. Pitchfork picked it up and ran with it and it went semi-viral. The story has since been pulled from the Fox News affiliate’s web site, Pitchfork still has it up. Our source speculates that the cause of death if most likely natural causes, an accidental oversdose or heart failure brought on by the cumulative effect of years of hard living. Sad news to be sure, but we can’t help but think Jay Reatard would be pleased to learn he was still fucking shit up even in death. Rock on, duder.
PREVIOUSLY: According to the Fox Memphis, “Memphis Police are searching for a possible suspect in Wednesday’s death of Memphis musician Jay 
Reatard at his Cooper-Young home. Officers were called to the 900-block of Meda around 3:30am and found 29-year old Jimmy Lindsey, Jr., also known as Jay Reatard, dead on arrival. The Homicide Bureau is handling this as an ongoing investigation.” MORE
NEW YORK TIMES: The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported that a roommate had found him in bed, and the police have opened an investigation into his death. A spokeswoman for the Shelby County medical examiner in Tennessee said an autopsy had been performed but that a cause of death had not been determined. MORE
MUST READ: “Shit Magnet”
NEW YORK TIMES: In an article for The New York Times, Mike Rubin wrote that Jay Reatard’s album debut solo album “Blood Visions” revealed “Mr. Lindsey’s talent for distilling punk songwriting to its most elemental form, a mix of adrenaline, testosterone and sugary hooks. Delivered in an ersatz English accent, songs like ‘My Shadow’ were reminiscent of late-1970s British punk, particularly bands like Wire and the Adverts, whose former leader, TV Smith, was tapped by Mr. Lindsey as the opening act for his recent tour.” MORE
BIG TAKEOVER: Any reader of this blog knows how big of a JAY REATARD fan I am. This was my sixth time seeing him play in the last several years and four of those shows have been at Johnny Brenda’s. On his first visit to Philadelphia since the August release of his fantastic and unfairly maligned new Lp Watch Me Fall, this was also my first time hearing him play material from the album. It didn’t dominate, though, as the set still opened with “Blood Visions”, the title track of his incredible 2006 solo debut, and also featured plenty of songs from Blood Visions as well as the numerous singles he’s released since 2006 as well. It’s hard to really give highlights since his sets are fast, furious and straight to the point. As usual, this was a 35 minute, wham bam thank you mam dropkick that left you wanting more and gasping at the onslaught of speed, precision and melody on stage. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: HEAR YE: Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall
PREVIOUSLY: Jay Reatard RIP