People Who Died

Jim Carroll, singer, poet and one-time heavy drug user, passed away.

His big hit (see title) was one of my favorite songs in high school- I think mainly because one morning, an old crusty sports guy on the radio (I think the Pittsburgh rock station was trying to mainstream by adding old familiar news and sports voices to its morning show) was so outraged that the he ripped it off the turntable (maybe it was a stunt- I know he did it to "Rock Lobster" too) therefore turning it into an instant classic for me at least.


I liked "Catholic Boy"- bouncy upbeat nihilism (along with the hit, the title track and "Three Sisters" are particularly memorable ), unfortunately the follow up albums didn't quite cut it. From my suburban perch, I couldn't quite identify with his biography and never saw Leonardo DiCaprio's "Basketball Diaries" but wanted to write because the song evoked an era.