REVIEW: Soundtrack, Basketball Diaries (Island)

- Joe Silva

Long after he'd graduated and won a Pulitzer for the The Basketball Diaries, I actually shared the same plush hallways of our mutual high school with Jim Carroll for a moment. Or maybe half a moment. What I saw between classes and half asleep on a bench was a gaunt, pale, carrot topped fellow wearing a long wool overcoat moving silently along the carpeting. The girl sitting next to me on the bench, sat up and yelled "My God! It's David Bowie!!" Carroll smiled and went past us silently. Later we learned who he actually was (the Man Who Fell To Earth resemblance was phenomenal at the time...), and that he often visited his old Latin teacher, one of the few people he was endeared to during his turbulent adolescence. But nevertheless, we were all levelled. Carroll was at the zenith of his popularity then - a celebrated author, with a hit single on FM radio, and an appearance on Saturday Night Live in his back pocket. Instantly all other noteworthy alumni, including some guy named McEnroe, paled in comparison.

But aside from the anecdotal fluff, it's 15 years later and Carroll's only now getting his second wind. MTV trotted him out for one of their spoken word affairs, the Diaries are finally seeing screen time, and the soundtrack from said film will probably revive some of Carroll's lost airplay, particularly since his big radio moment is incidentally included.

There a few hints of late that Carroll may have forged something of an affinity with the Seattle set. One his MTV-read poems was an ode to Kurt Cobain, and both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam crop up on this soundtrack (with Carroll diggin up his "Catholic Boy" while singing with the latter). There are a few voiceovers by Carroll here as well with haunting instrumental backing provided by Graeme Revell. And haunting is the raison d'platter in general, swinging from the Doors' still evocative "Riders On The Storm", to the newly evocative "Down By The Water" by one Miss PJ Harvey. The producers even managed to get the Posies to contriubte an excellent and moody (!!) piece to sandwich in among the other tracks. What's weird here is the shuffling rap of Rocker's HiFi's "What A Life." Suitably groovin' material as it is, I wonder how it might mesh with a 70's tale about anglo kids from the tri-state area. Flea, The Cult, and Green Apple Quick Step also add suitable flavour to the blend. Anchored by what probably is a fairly rough, urban coming of age tale, the selections here all come off as more than fitting inclusions. Look around for Massive Interal Complications (who add "Strawberry Wine" here) to possibly make a small stir. Not a smiley, happy compilation by any means, but Island took the path of no filler to make this thoroughly enjoyable.