Jay Reatard's Lost Legacy, Five Years After His Death

Five years ago last month, Jimmie Lee Lindsey, best known as Jay Reatard, succumbed to an accidental drug overdose in his sleep. Expectedly, things have gone a little quiet regarding the music and influence of Jay’s 15-year run (1995–2010); we’re at the quiet-zone in the retrospection cycle—too early to full process his legacy writ large without listing hyperbolic, plus it always feels “too soon.” Regardless, a specific chapter in the career of this Memphis-based force of nature is in need of some corrective action; one that deserves a more esteemed position in the written history of underground rock, as well as a more prominent turn in the ongoing cultural conversation therein. The Lost Sounds came together in mid-1998 around Lindsey, co-songwriter/co-founder Alicja Trout, and drummer Rick Crook, who had recently moved to Memphis from Jackson, Miss. The band came apart, for good, six years later… read more >