Jim Carroll has died…he was getting old and he’s lived it large for major parts of his life but it’s always a shock when someone who has meant something to you passes to the other side…i know very little about jim carroll but what i do know i know really well and you know what..? he was a Beat…probably one of the best Beats ever….you gotta read The Basketball Diaries for one…it’s funny as fuck and moving and makes you think and ponder about how little you did when you were 15…makes you wanna go back to your early teens and really live a little..it’s set in new york and it’s basically a diary about Jim and his mates taking drugs and getting into trouble blah blah…don’t read this, read that…turn off this computer and go to the local book shop and buy it….it’s wonderful.

the only other thing to know about Carroll is his album Catholic Boy and especially the track People Who Died…it’s a tune that once heard is never forgotten – it’s a wonderful ramble through the life of Carroll and his friends and lovers…it’s warhol / factory / reed esque but better….listen to the tune…google the lyrics and read ’em out loud after several drinks and the rest…

god bless you Jim Carroll…i’m going off to find out more about you…

written by our friend James Endeacottat 1965 Records – and you can check out James sitting in for Guy Garvey on BBC6 music last night on the iPlayer.