What do Arcade Fire and Jay Reatard have in common? Ostensibly, not much. Last night, when Win Butler announced on stage at a Philadelphia show, “this is a song by Jay Reatard,” some guy just off camera astutely remarks, “Really? What the fuck? That’s crazy.”
But despite the genre disparity, the late Jay Reatard’s songs had heart—and heart is something Arcade Fire brings by the truckload. Reatard’s “Oh It’s Such A Shame” sounds soulful and enchanted in Win Butler’s hands, like everything else he does.
Reatard himself was also fond of covering songs he loved outside his native genre, like Deerhunter’s “Fluorescent Gray” (video below).
Death+Taxes was fortunate enough to feature Reatard in a magazine cover shoot last fall. It was his last print magazine feature, and it would be one ours, too. R.I.P., Jay, and thanks to Ray Lego for the great photos.
Arcade Fire’s long-anticipated “The Suburbs” is out today. Thanks to Consequence Of Sound for the lead.
October 04, 2010 at 3:41 pm, Crocodiles Dish Out ‘Sleep Forever’ | Death and Taxes said:
[...] band shares a label with Jay Retard, Junior Kimbrough, and The Black Keys, and released 2009′s most memorable summer jam, [...]
December 29, 2010 at 3:53 pm, Mixtape Madness: The Best of 2010 | Death and Taxes said:
[...] celebrated albums this year was Deerhunter’s “Halcyon Digest.” The band’s tribute to the late Jay Reatard, “He Would Have Laughed,” remains one of the album’s most affecting tracks, [...]