i’m mourning this morning

most of us have taken it on the chin thrice over the last week, first ed then farah and now michael.  i hang my head low for each of them and my head hangs from its lowest point in the same order of their departure.  however my head was already hanging even lower in the weeks before from another passing which most likely passed by the majority of my readers

on may 24th jay bennet died a rock ‘n roll death from an accidental overdose of pain killers.  jay was the multi-instrumentalist/engineer genius for wilco from the mid-90′s until 2002 and was fired from the band by front man jeff tweedy sometime around the release of “yankee hotel foxtrot.”  the story behind that album is most likely one of the more fascinating stories of just how effed-up the music industry is and jay’s passing adds icing to that cake.

jay’s use of painkillers was not recreational.  on his myspace page he wrote of  “A decade-plus of multiple nightly stage jumps and various other rock ‘n ‘roll theatrics had finally taken a toll that I could no longer deal with.”  recent hip replacement surgery had left jay in chronic pain and his “ghost was born” as a result of what is believed to be a fentanyl patch that “bled.”  although the coroner made no mention of this in his report, those close to jay indicate he used the patch which had previously been recalled by the manufacturer.

it took two people to replace jay in wilco and it might be argued that jay was to jeff as paul was to john, they complimented and balanced each other for a near perfect combination of accessible pop & art.  jay left the band and had just released the ironically titled “what ever happened, i apologize” and you can download it here for free.

thanks jay, for all the joy you’ve brought me over the years.  i see you in a little while.