Spoken Word
From The Basketball Diaries
From a Diary, 1962 (0:35)
Recorded for Dial-A-Poem on March 30, 1969 (when Carroll was 19), this is the earliest spoken-word recording I know of. The excerpt is from a longer recording which can be found on the Giorno Poetry Systems albums The Dial-A-Poem Poets (1972) and You’re a Hook: The 15 Year Anniversary of Dial-A-Poem(1983). This diary is published in the Winter 1966 section of The Basketball Diaries (pages 157-59 in Penguin editions).
Devil’s Toe, 1962 (0:53)
This diary appears in the Summer 1964 section of The Basketball Diaries, (page 47 in Penguin editions). It was recorded for the The Basketball Diaries audio book and adapted with music for The Basketball Diaries film soundtrack. Here are some photos of the location.
Bobby’s Death (1:30)
This diary appears in the Fall 1964 section of The Basketball Diaries, (pages 67-68 in Penguin editions). It was recorded for the The Basketball Diaries audio book and adapted with music for The Basketball Diaries film soundtrack. Here’s a photo of Bobby.
It’s Been Hard (0:22)
This diary appears in the Winter 1966 section of The Basketball Diaries, (pages 162-163 in Penguin editions). It was recorded for the The Basketball Diaries audio book and adapted with music for The Basketball Diaries film soundtrack.
Unpublished Diary (1:13)
Recorded live at St. Mark’s Church, New York, NY, 13 February 1973. Carroll reads a basketball diary not included in the published book. This diary is dated 8/8/65, the day after the “Celia Sisters” entry. It was published only in Adventures in Poetry, July 1968.
From Praying Mantis
“Sampling Nietzsche” (0:19)
“Fragment: Little N.Y. Ode” (0:19)
From Living at the Movies and Fear of Dreaming
From Forced Entries
“The Loft Party” (2:14)
Recorded live at Cafe Largo, Hollywood, CA, 14 March 1991. Jim meets William S. Burroughs for the first time. This selection features Carroll’s Burroughs impression. It appears on pages 101-110 of Forced Entries.
“Limbo” (0:27)
Recorded live at The Back Door, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 13 November 1987. This piece appears on pages 55-56 in Forced Entries.
Monologues
The Raven (1:17)
A monologue describing a section of Carroll’s novel-in-progress, tentatively titled The Petting Zoo.
Recorded live at Cafe Largo, Hollywood, CA, 14 March 1991. The protagonist meets the raven Noah released from the ark to discover land before releasing the dove . . .
“The Loss of American Innocence” (0:58)
Recorded live at Cafe Largo, Hollywood, CA,
14 March 1991
This is the end of the monologue as the story will appear in The Petting Zoo. It is substantially different from the monlogue as it appears on Praying Mantis. If you haven’t heard “The Loss of American Innocence” on Praying Mantis, DON’T listen to this clip until you do. To get the full effect, you must hear the entire monologue!
Carroll Talks About His Work
Carroll talks about his rise to fame (0:45)
From Interview, April 1995
Carroll talks about his new novel (0:33)
From Praying Mantis
Songs
From Catholic Boy
“People Who Died” (0:32)
“I Want the Angel” (0:22)
“City Drops Into the Night” (0:31)
“Crow” (0:36)
From Dry Dreams
“Lorraine” (0:25)
“Them” (0:31)
“Dry Dreams” (0:27)
From I Write Your Name
“I Write Your Name” (0:25)
“Voices” (0:22)
“Dance the Night Away” (0:29)
From The Basketball Diaries Film Soundtrack
“Catholic Boy” (0:33)
Jim Carroll with Pearl Jam
From Pools of Mercury
EXCLUSIVE! View album details
- zeno 0:28
- train 0:30
- things 0:29
- pools 0:30
- myruins 0:26
- message 0:31
- kurt 0:30
- itgoes 0:30
- iamnot 0:29
- hairshirt 0:29
- femaleas 0:28
- falldown 0:29
- desert 0:30
- cinco 0:31
- beast 0:31
“Train Surfing” (0:29)
“Falling Down Laughing” (0:28)
“Zeno’s Law of High-Heeled Shoes” (027:)
“Desert Town” (0:29)
“It Goes” (0:29)
“My Ruins” (0:26)
“Pools of Mercury” (0:30)
“Things That Fly” (0:29)
“I Am Not Kurt Schwitters” (0:29)
“Hairshirt Fracture” (0:29)
“Female as Thunder” (0:27)
“Cinco de Mayo” (0:30)
“Message Left on a Phone Machine” (0:30)
“The Beast Within” (0:31)
“Eight Fragments for Kurt Cobain” (0:29)
Misc. Live Performances
Carroll’s First Rock ‘n’ Roll Performance (with Patti Smith)
Recorded live at the California Theater, San Diego, CA,
15 May 1978
Patti Smith introduces Carroll (0:29)
Jim Carroll & Patti Smith (0:31)
“Wicked Gravity” (0:55)
The Jim Carroll Band performing the song from Catholic Boy.
Recorded live at the Bottom Line, New York, NY
22 December 1980
“I Want the Angel” (1:16)
Spoken version of the song from Catholic Boy.
Recorded Live at The Back Door, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA,
13 November 1987
Assorted Audio-only YouTube Videos
Covers
Covers of “People Who Died”
Here are some unique covers of Carroll’s most famous song.
Boink! (3:31)
Drive by Truckers (5:06)
Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids (2:03)
Headboard (3:19)
Covers from Put Your Tongue to the Rail
This is a double-CD, all Jim Carroll covers.
- Nothing Is True Mae Pang 0:48
- It's Too Late Psyclone Rangers 0:39
- Three Sisters Thorazine 0:46
- People Who Died Bootleg Thorazine Nightmare 0:26
- Catholic Boy Bottom 0:37
- City Drops Into the Night Stomaboy w/ Marrow 1:11
- I Want the Angel Jen Hess & Hotch 0:58
- Day and Night Iota 0:54
- Differing Touch Marah 0:43
- Crow Del Pez 0:48
- Plain Division Mia Johnson & Hoagy 0:52
- Wicked Gravity Sensitive Pricks 1:05
- Lorraine Dawn Morpurgo w/ New Ghost 1:18
- Dry Dreams DeControl 0:54
- Dance the Night Away Poppy 1:05
- Hold Back the Dream The Subverts 0:41
- Black Romance Rockula 0:58
- I Write Your Name The Last Match 0:50
- Voices The 440s 0:37
- Freddy's Store EDO 0:58
- Low Rider Maria Nicgorski w/ Ty Cobb 1:07
- Jealous Twin The Keepsakes 1:00
- Rooms Brother JT 1:05
- Still Life Burn Witch Burn 0:45
- No More Luxuries Adam Brodsky 0:09
Misc. Covers
7 Year Bitch, “It’s Too Late” (0:20)
Invisible Treaty, “NEA” (3:43)
This is a sampled pastiche of “To the NEA” and “Times Square’s Cage” from Praying Mantis. It’s in MP3 format.
Blue Oyster Cult, “Perfect Water” (5:11)
Technically speaking, this isn’t a cover. Carroll wrote the lyrics for BOC.
