reatarded.

i keep forgetting to dote on Jay Reatard and his new single that recently came out on Matador, who is (if for some reason you're living under a rock and unaware) releasing a series of limited-quantity singles by Jay. this is all very exciting news, but also a slight cause for concern, as Matador seems to be a deathtrap label for the rock'n'rollers. yeesh.

anyway, the new single = 2 tracks of what Jay does best, which is expertly executed poppy, fuzzy, fast r'n'r with a new-wave bent. oh, and lyrics that are equally hilarious and disturbing and dark and silly. Sam and i spent a good half hour (possibly more) flipping it over and over and over again ("she creeps me out/ she creeps me in...") at work last week. i've read a lot of disappointed testimonials concerning this single in and around the interweb, but i do not understand the hate. i give it an A- rating, the minus being there just because i will be honest with the fact that these two songs aren't quite as catchy as the "Blood Visions" tracks or (my alltime favorite) "I Know a Place." still, if you're at all a fan, you should definitely purchase a copy.

i must admit to my own bias, though, as Jay Reatard is one of the few people that make my inner cheesy 'fan girl' come out strong. i mean, he's really freakin' hot! he shits gold, for all i care. really though, he's so insanely prolific (short list of bands he's been in being: Reatards/Lost Sounds/Final Solutions/Angry Angles/Destruction Unit/there's a handful more) and his songwriting abilities have been so expertly honed over the years that really, everything he does IS gold. i swear.

and i hate to give attention to Pitchfork (really i do), but this weeks' newly launched Pitchfork TV has a really nice video of Jay Reatard live at the Cake Shop NYC from last October (the WHOLE SET is here!):


(swoon).

lastly, did you know that he has a blog? it's not updated very often but you'll find a minor treasure trove of demos, live tracks, weird tracks, and funny pictures.

(double swoon).