RIP Jimm Carroll

[windowman]

In what is now ironic, or as my college roomate used to say, ironical, his biggest hit was a song called "People Who Died" about all of his friends who passed before their time.

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2009/09/punk_rock_poet_jim_carroll_dea.html

[ScoopJohnD]

Oh man. I saw The Jim Carroll band a bunch of times back in the day. Loud, energetic New Yawk rock n roll and naturally considering his talent as a writer, some of the most intelligent lyrics around. Only 2 albums and Rhino has a nice compilation I believe.

The Basketball Diaries is absolutely brilliant. It really vividly captures New York in the early sixties as well as painfully showing how heroin was slowing destroying him. And even with that within the diaries are some truly funny laugh out loud stories. An amazing book.

RIP

[jonnygospeltent]

Oh man. I saw The Jim Carroll band a bunch of times back in the day. Loud, energetic New Yawk rock n roll and naturally considering his talent as a writer, some of the most intelligent lyrics around. Only 2 albums and Rhino has a nice compilation I believe.

The Basketball Diaries is absolutely brilliant. It really vividly captures New York in the early sixties as well as painfully showing how heroin was slowing destroying him. And even with that within the diaries are some truly funny laugh out loud stories. An amazing book.

RIP

An amazing book and a totally crappy movie.Rock On Jim.

[Headless Hornman]

I never saw him but had everything the Jim Carroll Band did (on vinyl). Interestingly there was a guitarist named Paul Sanchez on two of the discs, but not the Paul Sanchez we know.

And in other quirky trivia, Jim Carroll was Patti Smith's lover; she next moved on to Sam Shepard. And then Shepard and Smith wrote the play Cowboy Mouth.

[stynger]

Love that song "People Who Died". It was always a crank the volume to 11 whenever that song came on. RIP

[revjimk]

Had to love the book Basketball Diaries, as a Noo Yawk kid who grew up about the same time & loved hoops.
Funny??? How about the scene early in the book when he barfs on some guy on the Staten Island Ferry??
Never saw him perform live, but agree that "People Who Died" was excellent.
Happens to the best of us...
rev

[MaloGator]

RIP Jim...

I saw him with the band not long after I read Basketball Diaries as a young punk rocker and still recall the rush of hearing the opening bassline for It's Too Late, a song that was on many-a-mixtape...
Also saw him do a couple of spoken word performances where he read from Basketball Diaries and some of his other poetry. He lived right on the edge for a long time.

[Headless Hornman]

RIP Jim...

I saw him with the band not long after I read Basketball Diaries as a young punk rocker and still recall the rush of hearing the opening bassline for It's Too Late, a song that was on many-a-mixtape...
Also saw him do a couple of spoken word performances where he read from Basketball Diaries and some of his other poetry. He lived right on the edge for a long time.

It was It's Too Late that got me into JC. A local band covered it in their shows; I sought the original and discovered the Jim Carroll Band.

It's too late
To fall in love with Sharon Tate
But it's too soon
To ask me for the words I want carved on my tomb

[wladybugw]

RIP Jim...

[fantailmedia]

Always a fan (from my first reading of "the Basketball Diaries" back in '80/81?); saw the Jim Carroll Band (opening for the Boomtown Rats; bought the ticket to see Jim and his band).

Loved the first record (with faves People Who Died and Wicked Gravity); great stuff on "Dry Dreams". "Lorraine" will make your SKIN crawl; "Jealous Twin", "...what a visual lyricist, and real rocker. There's a wild version of him doing Del Shannon's "Runaway" on iTunes.

R.I.P Jim; now you're "pure".

[revjimk]

There was a great article on Jim in the Sunday New York Times, tells more about his last few years (he ended up living in the same part of the Bronx where he grew up).
Don't know info on a link, but I'm guessing its on the Net somewhere
rev

[windowman]

Thanks for sharing that, rev. Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/fashion/27Cover.html

[wladybugw]

Thanks for that, I had no idea what he had been up to the past few years. I am looking forward to reading the novel when it is published...Cindee

[Dr. A.]

I loved Catholic Boy and People Who Died from what i think is the first record he did. Lost interest and track of him after that, although i tried. RIP.

[revjimk]

The thing is, I'm sure lots of NY kids had similar experiences of hoops & Heroin. A few such as Earl Manigault, became legends based on their playground game. Most faded off into the mists of time. Fortunately, Jim Carrol had the ability to write & sing about it... good man...
rev

[fantailmedia]

Thanks for that link to the Times article.