David Brock said:

Heroin is an opiate, as are most pain killers.

My cousin was bigger than Jay and was addicted to heroin for 12 years. When he kicked, he started LOSING weight. 2 weeks later he was dead from a stroke. No one likes a quitter...

Blaine said:

Probably drugs, he was to fat to be addicted to heroin, my guess is some kinda opiates or pain killers. RIP Jay.

FYI, SIZE DOESN'T MATTER!!! you remember Sloth from the Goonies? He was 6 feet 8 inches 280lbs+, he died speedballin man.

Heroin is an opiate, as are most pain killers. My cousin was bigger than Jay and was addicted to heroin for 12 years. When he kicked, he started LOSING weight. 2 weeks later he was dead from a stroke. No one likes a quitter... Blaine said:

Probably drugs, he was to fat to be addicted to heroin, my guess is some kinda opiates or pain killers. RIP Jay.

This is not good folks...

Jay wasn't really that fat, mostly bloated. Dr John is fat & was a heroin addict for many years. Coulda been anything really. This is very sad. RIP. Blaine said:

Probably drugs, he was to fat to be addicted to heroin, my guess is some kinda opiates or pain killers. RIP Jay.

Fuck, this sucks.
Jay is a genius. We love you man.

I hung out with Jay at the Gories/Oblivians reunion last June and saw him again in August in Seattle/Vancouver. A true wild man of rock 'n' roll and I had a blast talking to him. It's really sad that he's gone. Way too soon. Nobody should only live less than 30 years on the planet. He will slip into immortality, for sure. Take care of yourselves, people!

This is a shock!! R.I.P Jay! You will be missed

heard he complained of flu-like symptoms before his death. R.I.P.

WTF? I saw this on Facebook; http://pitchfork.com/news/37575-rip-jay-reatard/

CRAZY!

A real talent. He had been making records since he was 15. I consider myself lucky to have gotten to see him play live a few times. His records rank among the best of the last decade in my opinion. A terrible loss. ♪Oh, it's such a shame♫

A truly sad day for rock and roll.

I'm in a total state of shock and cannot believe this ... R.I.P Jay xoxox

Probably drugs, he was to fat to be addicted to heroin, my guess is some kinda opiates or pain killers. RIP Jay.

listening to Bad Times right now-- Jay was all over the place the last 14 years. Hopefully it wasn't something stupid like drugs that killed him. One of his last tweets mentioned getting well. Maybe he was sick..

Jay Reatard passed away in his sleep last night. I think it's safe to say the garage/punk community has lost a very talented, committed, and prolific musician. I was always impressed by how many singles the man could release. He was definitely a believer in the old school way of doing music, and he will be missed. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/01/jay_reatard_rip.html http://pitchfork.com/news/37575-rip-jay-reatard/

I'm with Rod on this one. "He's Waiting" has a certain Je ne sais quoi. However, there is also Link Wray to consider... Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Matt Ayers said:

"You Really Got Me" is the nastiest, best guitar tone ever. Period.

I don't know....I think Larry Parypa one upped them with Cinderella and He's Waiting but then they probably would have never been written that way if it wasn't for the Kinks. But then again...the Witch and Psycho actually came out before the Kinks records were released here in the states.

I was going to be a doof and answer "stuff you can't buy anymore".

There is mention of Davies brothers Green "Fart Box" Elpico in several books about them. I have been looking for Photographic Proof for years (of them using it on stage) with no such luck. The Sonics have lots of "live" photos from the 60s you can reference. I have been fortunate enough to know folks on the inside for years (their soundman and several fellow musicians) The real way to learn things is to Ask Questions of musicians who were experimenting at the time (and even now) and to experiment yourself. Many great innovations in music (including sustained feedback, distortion, fuzztone, wah-wah, etc...) were figured out by folks trying to innovates new sounds with limited technical options. In this day of specialized pedals and digital boxes (i.e. PODs) and multi-effect units, some of that has been lost. Knowing your playing ability and technology helps a bunch. Perspective is also good. Don't try to re-invent the past, but draw from it to come up with something novel and new. Don't get me wrong either, I love the sound of that music and the simplicity of the gear used, but without the musical ability and innovation, it is all a bunch of noise. I'll cite Jeff Daking of the Psychedelic/Pop group the Blues Magoos. He runs one of the premier new technology companies in the Recording Industry. He holds several patents on electronic components used in many of the pieces of gear folks like me use. My pal Mike Soldano is another musician who builds custom amps for famous people (very good ones too!) He is an excellent guitarist and plays with several NW bands when he has the time to do so. Take the time to do your Homework and look at the History involved. One the the best books I have read on this is Andy Babiuk's (from the Chesterfield Kings) "Beatles Gear" book. Borrow it from your local library (or someone you know who has it) Also "Temples of Sound" is also another great reference book on how certain things were recorded at various Historic studios too. There are tons of reference material out there on the web too. Seek and ye shall find! Jamie said:

Thank you Erik! Very interesting and informative as always. Regarding that Elpico amp, I've heard lots of different quotes on the wattage. I've seen everywhere from 8 to 20. I've heard it may have been an AC55 like this one.
If I had lots of money I would pick up a cheap low watt el84 based amp just to see how close I could get. Of course then I would need an AC30 and a Harmony Meteor.

Thank you Erik! Very interesting and informative as always. Regarding that Elpico amp, I've heard lots of different quotes on the wattage. I've seen everywhere from 8 to 20. I've heard it may have been an AC55 like this one. If I had lots of money I would pick up a cheap low watt el84 based amp just to see how close I could get. Of course then I would need an AC30 and a Harmony Meteor.

Amazingly Larry has been using the same guitar (an Epiphone Riviera) on all the Sonics gigs and recording since the beginning. He has used many different amps over the year (and many unknown pedals too) to achieve that sound. He has a very specific sound he has developed with his playing style. I was fortunate enough to peek at it on the Halloween show they did here in Seattle in 2008 from the Front Row! For the Kinks "You Really Got Me" sound, that is a green Elpico 20 watt tube amp with the speakers slashed (which they refer to as the "Fart Box") I don't suggest you do this to your (if you have one) as Elpico tube amps are worth a bundle these days, but you can do it with a cheapo amp and the effect is similar. There is a non-destructive way to distort your speakers without slashing them with a razor blade. You can un-mount the the speaker from the cabinet then stretch a plastic garbage bag over the front of the speaker snugly, remount the speaker and then cut the stretched plastic from the garbage bag over the speaker (which will then distort and flap instead of the speaker) This is called a "Buzz Speaker" and does much the same effect. It also saves you from having to expensively re-cone your speakers on your guitar amp too. Take that for what it is worth! Yep Rod, it is "Stuff you can't buy anymore" BUT with a little Knowlege and Thought, you can still make the same sounds. Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Matt Ayers said:

"You Really Got Me" is the nastiest, best guitar tone ever. Period.

I don't know....I think Larry Parypa one upped them with Cinderella and He's Waiting but then they probably would have never been written that way if it wasn't for the Kinks. But then again...the Witch and Psycho actually came out before the Kinks records were released here in the states. I was going to be a doof and answer "stuff you can't buy anymore".

Here's that link: http://www.cryptrecords.com/100best.htm Lieutenant Cheeseliver said:

That's pretty cool! Great minds must think alike heh heh..

There's a few volumes that focus on slower, more moody and folky punk rock and such, which are cool in their own right, but the 3 volumes mentioned focus mostly on just flat out, up-tempo, killer 60s garage r&r...

Where did you find that list you mentioned?

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

While trying to find some answers to Kopper's question about a connection between Little Steven and the garage punk hideout, I came across a top 100 list of essentials by Tim Warren of Crypt and of all the Teenage Shutdown albums, the only ones on the list were the ones I mentioned and the last one mentioned "I'm A No Count" (that's volume 4, by the way). How weird is that? The others are good too but those three are probably the best. "You Better Get A Move On" (vol 7) and "HOwlin' For My Darlin" (vol 14) are pretty great as well.

Lieutenant Cheeseliver said:

'I'm A No Count' is great!

The tracks by Jolly Green Jiants, The Heard, Outcasts, Chob and Cave Men are personal favourites. Really fine compilation..

My Favs are

No Tease and I'm Down Today.

I really like the CK's but there haircuts scream Hard Rock LA, just sayin...