We lost Jim Carroll last September and it still makes me sad. While justly venerated for his writing, I've always felt that Carroll's music was somewhat overlooked. Yes, "People Who Died" has become a timeless classic, but I've always felt it rendered The Jim Carroll Band as something of a "one-hit-wonder" to the layperson, when the rest of Catholic Boy (the album that spawned it) is amazing, to say nothing of the albums that followed it. Apropos of nothing in particular, I'm exhuming Jim Carroll's cover of "Sweet Jane" by the Velvet Underground from his third and final studio album (of music), I Write Your Name. As cover versions go, it's not really that adventurous, but I love this video for its low budget aesthetic. Lou Reed himself makes a cameo, as does Patti Smith guitarist/Nuggets-archivist/cool guy Lenny Kaye.
In keeping with my preoccupation with Manhattan-centric location-spotting, eagle-eyed viewers will recognize the outdoor shots of Lou Reed walking west on 1st street to the Bowery, rounding the corner to CBGB. Today, that corner has a big whopping CHASE bank on it, and the vacant lots pictured now play host to shining glass condos for the mega-affluent.
Enjoy.
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