{"id":4776,"date":"2022-01-10T22:18:04","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4230"},"modified":"2025-03-05T19:50:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T03:50:47","slug":"waynes-weekly-reader-part-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carrolls-interviews\/waynes-weekly-reader-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayne’s Weekly Reader (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0Wayne Klick<\/a>
17 February 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven’t already, you need to read\u00a0last week’s column<\/a>\u00a0as a preface to this one.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

My recent discovery of Jim Carroll and his talents led me to purchase Pools of Mercury<\/em>, a combination spoken word and music CD released on Mercury Records<\/a> in the fall of last year. The record was released concurrently with Jim’s book of poetry Void of Course<\/em>.  (Both can be purchased on Amazon.com among other locations.)  Six of the CD’s fifteen cuts are poems that appear in Void of Course<\/em>.  Four cuts are poems from Fear of Dreaming<\/em>, a book released in 1993.  The rest are songs with lyrics recently composed by Carroll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find it odd that the adjectives I would use to describe this CD seem clich\u00e9d: haunting, dark, introspective, surreal. This recording is anything but a clich\u00e9d. It is in fact unlike anything I have ever heard before — a fascinating mix. Poems read by Carroll over sound effects, alternating with his songs — harshly seductive melodies and rhythms backing his grinding and powerful vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pools of Mercury<\/em> is one of those recordings that is itself a large work of art, not merely an anthology of several small works packaged together to sell.  Each piece on this CD is like one of the teeth in your upper jaw — each working together with the others to chew up your dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have resisted reading Void of Course <\/em>along with the recording.  I want only to hear these poems while the CD is on and experience fully Jim’s voice and his vocal inflections.  Indeed the pieces take on so much more this way.  When reading a book you are focused on the book and the sound is in the background.  I want to focus on the sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical pieces interspersed with spoken poems is something I have not seen done before — at least not done effectively.  Jim’s singing is quite different from his reading.  When he is reading he is exploring his soul.  When he is singing he is reaching out and communicating allegories.  The music composed for his songs by Anton Sanko and others is pulsating and moving.  The sound textures composed for his spoken pieces are constant and without beat.  These contrasts are like that of a stark black and white photograph.  There is very little color in Jim Carroll’s world.  We like black and white photos because our brains do not have to process color information, thereby allowing us to see the essential meaning much more clearly and easily.  This is why black and white photos can be much more disarming and affecting than color.  Only rarely will someone describe a black and white image as “beautiful”.  Experiencing Jim’s view this way, you see, without rosy shades, what churns at the core of his life.  The emotion is raw and unfiltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One song on\u00a0Pools of Mercury<\/em>\u00a0is particularly “haunting” to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Some say it’s a lie, some say it’s a sin
Do you know how it ends if you won’t let it begin?
You feel it waking now beneath your skin
You can’t live without the beast within<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u00a91999 Wayne Klick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The original article was found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to PART 1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please visit the author at http:\/\/www.wayneklick.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Wayne Klick17 February 1999 If you haven’t already, you need to read\u00a0last week’s column\u00a0as a preface to this one. My recent discovery of Jim Carroll and his talents led me to purchase Pools of Mercury, a combination spoken word and music CD released on Mercury Records in the fall of last year. The record was released concurrently with … Continue reading Wayne’s Weekly Reader (Part 2)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3992,"menu_order":27,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[39,44],"class_list":["post-4776","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-1f2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9869,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/david-duncan-review-of-pools-of-mercury-memphis-flyer-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":0},"title":"David Duncan-Review of Pools of Mercury-Memphis Flyer 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by David D. DuncanMemphis Flyer, 28 December 1998 Listening to Jim Carroll\u2019s music is a lot like reading his poetry \u2013 it\u2019s usually a harrowing journey, but one worth all the ensuing trauma. Pungent, street-smart urban poet Carroll returns to the rock arena after a 14-year absence with Pools\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9873,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/paul-mcdonald-review-of-pools-of-mercury-louisville-eccentric-observer-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":1},"title":"Paul McDonald – Review of Pools of Mercury – Louisville Eccentric Observer 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Mercury risingBy Paul McDonaldLouisville Eccentric Observer \"When you hear Jim Carroll's voice,you know you're in for an interesting ride.\" Back in 1994, Jim Carroll was recording some songs with Pearl Jam that would later be included on the soundtrack for the film \"Basketball Diaries.\" Carroll had been thinking of returning\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4540,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-lyrics\/pools-of-mercury-lyrics\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":2},"title":"Pools of Mercury Lyrics","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryBy Jim CarrollMercury Records, 1998 See also: album details and audio clips LYRICS INDEX Falling Down Laughing Desert Town Pools of Mercury Hairshirt Fracture The Beast Within Falling Down Laughing Lyrics by Jim Carroll He was feeling invulnerableThat was foolish but wonderfulBut of course the first one was\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Pools of Mercury (1998) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5901,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/jim-carroll-pools-of-mercury-consumable\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":3},"title":"Jim Carroll, Pools of Mercury","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim Carroll,\u00a0Pools of Mercury Consumable Online, Nov.\/Dec. 1998 Review by Christina Apeles The first time I was introduced to Jim Carroll's music was in the eighties movie Tuff Turf in which he and his band (with Robert Downey Jr. posing as the drummer) performed that unforgettable punk song, \"People Who\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Website Logo","src":"images\/smchar.gif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9871,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/jim-macnie-review-of-pools-of-mercury-boston-phoenix-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":4},"title":"Jim Macnie – Review of\u00a0Pools of Mercury – Boston Phoenix 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryReview by Jim MacnieBoston Phoenix, 9 November 1998 **1\/2 It starts with a promise of decapitation, as if to prove that his punkishness is still in effect almost two decades after Catholic Boy's skag stories turned heads. And it ends with an evaluation of Kurt Cobain's pre-blast psyche,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4057,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/pools-of-mercury\/","url_meta":{"origin":4776,"position":5},"title":"Pools of Mercury","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryBy Jim CarrollMercury Records, October 1998 Get this on Amazon.com LINER NOTES Produced by Anton SankoRecorded and mixed by Denny McNerney Mastered by Denny McNerneyRecorded & mastered at Easter Island Recording, NYC (212-229-2949)Assistant engineering--Jim Naisby The Poems: \"I Am Not Kurt Schwitters,\" \"Things That Fly,\" \"It Goes,\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Pools of Mercury (1998) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4776"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8563,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4776\/revisions\/8563"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}