R.I.P. Jay Bennett

[stlsaxman]

Source: National Public Radio

Jay Bennett died in his sleep Saturday night, of causes yet to be determined. He was 45. Bennett suffered chronic hip pain for many years, having injured himself from a dive off a stage in the '90s when he was performing with his band Titanic Love Affair.

I'm going to spend the rest of my night listening to his work. His love of music came through in every sound he explored: pump organ, prepared piano, Wurlitzer, Omnichord, Mellotron, piano loops, guitars and Leslie banjos -- and that's just on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot!

Read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2009/05/rip_jay_bennett.html

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I loved the way Jay could add sounds as music. Very organic. Bennett freed up Wilco/ Jeff Tweedy do do such brave albums as Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Godspeed and heavenly music to you, Jay!

[Bluenorthwest]

1. Damn

He was brilliant.

[RedSock]

2. damn

that is some shitty news.

[UpInArms]

3. tragic - here's a excerpt from his latest blog post - re under- or un-insured

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=45596491&blogId=485300177

Well, it turns out that these types of injuries don’t really heal themselves, as I naively told myself might just magically happen, if I rested that leg, used a cane for a while, and lost a bit of weight. So, major surgery it was to be…the only glitch, I am among our nations under-insured (my previous injury to that leg was listed as a pre-existing condition, and any injury that could be linked to the same root cause, I was told would not be covered). Some time passed as I contemplated my next “move,”---how to come up with the money to pay for the surgery “out of pocket,” and as I brainstormed, my hip finally decided to lock up, and the pain got worse. So I began the arduous, or more accurately, extremely time consuming and endlessly frustrating, process of finding a surgeon and hospital that would perhaps “cut me a deal,” be willing to bargain/barter a bit, or at least allow me to make installment payments. As it turns out, this is possible, but also difficult to arrange, if you can not come up with a sizable down payment as a show good faith, etc.

[jhrobbins]

4. I didn't know of Jay Bennet or his music, but I do know chronic pain and the way

it can begin to change you over years of it day in and day out. I live with it everyday - some days worse than others but maybe a day in every 100 that is OK and I feel OK. I have turned into a total recluse - I haven't left this house for the last 8 months except to go to my doctor 8 months ago - and I mean I haven't left the house; to go to the mail box or walk around the cul-de-sac. FIrst, it would hurt too much and second, I would get out of breath and my heart would race after about 50 yards. I don't really know why I am writing this, but all I am saying is that chronic pain with no end in sight can make you exhausted.

[Doremus]

10. I'm very sorry to hear that. :(

Is there nothing that can be done?

[stlsaxman]

5. Kick

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

6. Wilco has been lacking without him

Everything after his last album with them, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, has been a little flat.
He gave Tweedy's songs an extra kick

[stlsaxman]

9. yes and no... it's hard to say where the line is but Tweedy fed Bennett fed Tweedy, etc...

but one thing is certain- he was replaced with three people to play it.

but now that Tweedy has been given the musical freedom he got from Jay- it's a band that is close to my heart.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

13. they're still good

it's just that the tweedy/bennett collaboration was bigger than the sum of its parts and they can't touch the early stuff
though nels cline, who joined from another of my favorite bands, the geraldine fibbers, makes the live shows unbelievable

[stlsaxman]

14. good point re "sum of the parts" and could not agree more about Nels Cline...

with every solo i find myself shaking my head thinking "how the fuck is this even possible?"

:headbang:

[fishwax]

7. damn, that's too bad

Aside from Wilco, I also loved his work with Steve Pride and His Blood Kin. Pride on Pride is one of the most unjustly-overlooked collections of the 1990s, and there are a couple of songs on there that, in many ways, define the very possibilities of alt-country.

Sad news, indeed. Best thoughts to his family and friends.

:(

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

8. Rest in peace.

[mascarax]

11. Very sad - what a talent

Wilco is one of my favorite bands, and Jay's influence resulted in some flat-out great work.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. you can get his last album as a free download

here:
http://rockproper.com/jay-bennett/whatever-happened-i-apologize.html