Starts Like A Kiss and Ends Like A Curse! Jim Carroll's Catholic Boy

Inscrutable Poise, Nihilist Charm

Catholic Boy is an album I forget about all the time, but I can only blame myself for that. Because forgettable is not a word that should ever be associated with this album by Jim Carroll. First and foremost, he is literally a poet, writer, spoken word author, who took a career swerve into popular music during the 1980's. I am not familiar with his poetry, only by titles, but I will say that Catholic Boy is a witty and magical album, full of wonder poignancy and full blown blather. The album is available in mp3 format but the Cd has been out of print for twenty years.

My cousin died this week after a recent period of health problems. I can't say we were close, as I haven't seen him in many years, but nonetheless this has been a very upsetting time for me. But when I was younger we were friendly, played Little League, went to High School. He was a really sharp intelligent guy, kind hearted, and he had a fantastic, original sense of humor. He had his own unique analytical take on the world I think, a very special person. I liked and respected him a lot. Since its probably true that he had no idea how I felt, I've just decided to use my little piece of cyberspace to pay tribute to his memory. It may be my own crazy imagination, but I always felt that we were a lot alike, or that at least there was some sort of kinship between us that went beyond just being related. Honestly I don't know how he really felt about me. But I'm pretty depressed about what has happened and have been for some time. I am glad that plenty of people came to the wake to pay their respects to him, his family and close friends. You hope for a miracle, but he was very sick and had suffered a great deal.  He was the same age as me. Way too young for such a fate.

Well, I thought about what I ought to write about and I came up with Jim Carroll right out of the blue, and it has nothing to do with my cousin and everything about me I think. Obviously the song People Who Died comes to mind and I can't deny the association to recent events. But it is a great song, powerful bare bones punk New York style, Lou Reed meets the Ramones. And besides being a poet Carroll is a great storyteller, full of anecdotes, urban legends, verbal plate spinning. Maybe with our cut and paste short attention spanned world of today he might have been a big hit. People who died is full of little stories vignettes about people he knew who came to a bad end. And its a powerful powerful song--you would think it would be maudlin and morbid but it isn't really. It's a high powered lively memorial to people who Carroll feels should never be forgotten. Isn't being name-checked in a great punk song a lot better tribute than a lousy tombstone or urn?



In some ways Catholic Boy is a seemingly below the radar record. The music is mostly uptempo punk rock, with some exemplary lead guitar work. Carroll doesn't have a great or memorable voice. He can sing though, in a talky style akin to a Lou Reed, and has a great rhythmic sense and he's also funny. But the words, the words...That is what sets this album apart from the competition. Again, this man was writer and poet and the lyrics are so imaginative and descriptive. And you really don't know what he is going to say. Sometimes you tune out to the music and then wonder, did he just say "she cleans her skin with a Krypton laser? " or "they wait in shadows and steal the light from your eyes".

I think that stylistically his poetry must have been particularly punk ready. The way he describes and translates the world into his own language is stunning. Many people understand that poets don't usually translate to popular music well. Jim Carroll is one of the few exceptions to the rule. He's not singing about Hollywood, presidents, movers and shakers. The world morphs through his verbal pyrotechnics and the humdrum world becomes a place of passion excitement and mystery. The songs at least in spirit remind me of Dylan Thomas' poems a little bit.

In addition to People Who Died, there are many other great songs here. How about Three Sisters, a great set of character portraits, kind of a take on the Chekhov play updating it with Big Apple moxy. "The more she denies them the more they demand her, but she just wants to lay in bed all night, reading Raymond Chandler." Then there is the ballad Day and Night.

I feel her skin . . . it's thin and white as pressed milk
I closed my eyes and she vanished just like burnt silk
And what remains was like some fallen thunder
And my lips were chained; they were filled with empty wonder

But the stars tell lies, it blinds the only warning
And when darkness dies, there's nothing left but morning . . .

Just day and night.

More of the same evocative guitar on Day and Night too. It's presence throughout the album reminds me of the guitar primacy on Matthew Sweet's excellent Girlfriend album. The opening track Wicked Gravity is another witty scorcher. "The gravity here is just sick for revenge, it's like my lungs are filled with chains...". He's just a cool guy, way cooler than you and me and he knows it. He enunciates with swagger and bravado like a proto rapper, enunciating in first person and also as knowing observer. The lyrics are steeped in Catholic lore, not in praise but more like an internal burden that has to be fought with. Its very presence is the gorilla in the room that cannot be avoided. "I was a Catholic boy, redeemed with pain and not with joy". Another one of his songs is the piano driven "I Want The Angel".

Nothin Back For All You Saved

I saw the Jim Carroll Band in Worcester back in 1983. It was "Spree Day" at Clark University, a day when classes were cancelled and there was a big campuswide party. We crashed this party and found that the band playing was JC himself. It started out a little stilted and cold--it truly must have been a weird venue for him. A few songs in though, they got comfortable and did a great powerful fiery set. He had a crack band behind him and he soon took command of the whole situation with energy and personality. Believe me, they were definitely a very good live act.

Unfortunately Jim passed away last year at the age of 60 of a heart attack. After Catholic Boy put two other albums Dry Dreams and I Write Your Name, before concentrating on his career as a poet. He later released the spoken word Praying Mantis album in 1991 and then Pools of Mercury, his first musical album in 15 years. Notably he also collaborated on lyrics with Blue Oyster Cult and also with Rancid on their ...And Out Come The Wolves album. Some of his poetry collections include The Basketball Diaries and Living at the Movies. A posthumous novel, The Petting Zoo was also released this year.



I really forgot how much I like the music of Jim Carroll. Catholic Boy is a bona fide artistic statement--I listen to him croon and I marvel. He is a testament to how the power of words can change the world. He really was a man blessed by the muse, and I encourage you to take a step into his world and begin to look at your own world in interesting and imaginative ways.

BS IIIIV