Jim Carroll, RIP

[BFrank]

Jim Carroll, 60, Poet and Punk Rocker, Dies

Always an interesting performer. I saw him 2 or 3 times between 1980 and 1990.

Needless to say, will be forever known for his tune "People Who Died".

[ghost of miles]

Bummer--I was a fan & had hoped to read the novel he was supposedly working on a few years ago. I think I remember reading a comment from Lou Reed to the effect that Carroll and Lester Bangs were the two writers who best conveyed the spirit of rock 'n roll in their writings...RIP, JC.

[AllenLowe]

interesting guy, though I always thought his writing had the same weakness and pitfalls as Patti Smith's-the ideas were compelling but the language failed. It's interesting that so much of the work of that "group" suffered in the same way. Richard Hell's lyrics just fall apart when he pushes them as poetry, same for Tom Verlaine (also Patti Smith's). It's a pity because they sometimes work well with the music - which I suppose is the point, but they all remind me of Dylan's tendency to just write and write without editing. The problem becomes, I think, that when you are convinced of your own "genius" by others, you start to assume that anything you write is automically a work of genius. This is why Lou Reed has become such a shadow of himself.

I was just reading the lyrics to People Who Died, and there are just some very awkward things in it -

[Tom 1960]

Gosh, I remember when "People Who Died" first came out. The local rock station placed that in heavy rotation. Funny, so many years later and you never here that song played. A real classic, IMO. As I recall "Catholic Boy' was a damn good album also although I probably haven't played it nearly 20 years. It's sitting around here somewhere on an old cassette. I'll have to see if I can come up with it. R.I.P Jim.

[7/4]

Gosh, I remember when "People Who Died" first came out. The local rock station placed that in heavy rotation. Funny, so many years later and you never here that song played. A real classic, IMO. As I recall "Catholic Boy' was a damn good album also although I probably haven't played it nearly 20 years. It's sitting around here somewhere on an old cassette. I'll have to see if I can come up with it. R.I.P Jim.

I used to play it on the mp3 juke box at the bar down the street nightly. we thought it was a blast.

[Jazzmoose]

I always said I could get along with pretty much anyone, but I would NOT be Jim Carroll's friend...