Jay Bennett

Jay Bennett, 1963-2009

Songwriter, guitarist, singer and more Jay Bennett, formerly of Wilco, was found dead last week. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

I'm a fan of both the with-Bennett and post-Bennett Wilco material, but
his loss is a damn shame. I picked up his "The Magnificent Defeat" solo
CD for two bucks at a shop in Berkeley in 2007. I thought it was
mediocre. Then I listened to it again. While still uneven, it sure is
interesting. I just picked up a more recent effort, "Whatever Happened,
I Apologize" for free online.

Come to think of it, that I could (legally) buy one of his albums for
free and another for two bucks tells me why he might have been unable to afford health insurance.

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
-- "Jesus, Etc.," from Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot