Cocaine, Alcohol Cited as Factors in Jay Reatard's Death

Autopsy results for Jay Reatard reveal that the musician died of "cocaine toxicity" and that alcohol was also a "contributing factor in his death," Memphis' Commercial Appeal reports based on the Shelby County, Tennessee medical examiner's findings. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Reatard was found dead in his Memphis home on January 13th. He was 29.

Remember more artists lost before their time.

"He was devoted to the Flying V and punk rock," Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis told Rolling Stone. "I'll miss Jay." Added Matador Records founder Chris Lombardi, who released Reatard's Watch Me Fall in 2009, "Jay was a juggernaut of amazing musical ideas. He was a genius — a nihilistic genius but a genius nonetheless."

Related Stories:
• Jay Reatard Remembered by J Mascis, Bandmates in Days After Untimely Death
• Memphis Garage Rocker Jay Reatard Dead at 29
• Album Review: Jay Reatard's Watch Me Fall

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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