0 RIP Jim Carroll (1949-2009)

Punk rocker and poet Jim Carroll, author of the autobiographical The Basketball Diaries, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 60. His Jim Carroll Band combined his poetic sensibility with rock 'n' roll and was influential in the burgeoning punk rock scene in 1970s New York. Carroll made his biggest musical impact with his album "Catholic Boy" and the single "People Who Died". He was also an influence on a later generation of artists, both musicians and writers, and even worked with Pearl Jam on the Basketball Diaries Soundtrack, and appeared on Rancid's "Out Come the Wolves". A Vedder-less PJ were the backing band for the rerecorded version of "Catholic Boy" from that underrated Basketball Diaries soundtrack. I have the album "Catholic Boy" on vinyl and will be spinning it in his honor this week. Cheers and RIP Jim Carroll!