It isn’t fair that such a young, prodigious talent like Jay Reatard was taken from us way too soon. Nor, does it seem entirely appropriate to honor his passing with an un-released b-side. No one really wins with this deal. Jay’s dead. We get an unreleased song. Who wouldn’t make the trade to keep Jay around and save this tune for some future singles collection? He surely had another two, three, or four singles sets left in him — The man had a real knack for the three-minute pop song. Like Robert Pollard, he could seemingly write one on the can every morning.

“Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle,” is not one of Jay’s gems, rather, it was penned by Kurt Cobain, another talent who left this world too soon. Again, it doesn’t seem quite right to honor Jay in such a way, but it’s out there, and it rocks, and if there’s one thing Jay enjoyed during his time here, it was rockin’ the f*ck out.

MP3: Jay Reatard – Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle (via Shattered Records)

Jay Reatard on Shattered Records
Jay Reatard on Matador Records

photo by Jeff Sierputowski