Jay Bennett's Death : One Year Later

A year ago today, former Wilco member Jay Bennett was found dead in his home, the victim of an accidental overdose on muscle relaxers. The loss to the music world was great, not only in that it lost one of the most gifted musicians of this generation, but also in that it was the unfortunate end to a music career that was already considerably curbed because of his firing from the band that made him at least somewhat famous. I wish I could say I've enjoyed his post-Wilco solo work, or his band Titanic Love Affair, but unfortunately his output since his departure has always fallen under the mark - a Q without a U, much in the same way most of Wilco's work has suffered without their former multi-instrumentalist (A Ghost Is Born aside). A part of me always held out hope that Bennett and Jeff Tweedy would reconcile their differences and collaborate again but instead, Bennett's abrupt end has left a void like an unfinished book, a wrong that never will be made right. His death is one of the most regrettable losses I have come to know and it will continue to pain me every time I think of what could have been.