Fire one up, toss on "Piper", God's gift to us all. We will never know what happened. Drugs accelerated what was going on & I think he knew as well, realized he didn't want to live in plasticland & got out, paying a horrible price to do so. Always wondered what he would have been like if he just painted...
VH1 Classic showed his lifestyle and it was really sad. The way he lived, on a mattress in someone's flat. Watch Pink Floyd from the back row. It is heartbreaking. Do you ever think they would have gone this far if he stayed on with them?
Absolutely not. That's not a knock on him or his abilities, just that David afforded them the ability to be far more experimental yet commercial at the same time. There's no way they would have done anything they did after 1968 if Syd was in the band. The best thing for all parties was Syd leaving.
(02-11-2010 07:04 PM)Electrophile Wrote: [ -> ]Absolutely not. That's not a knock on him or his abilities, just that David afforded them the ability to be far more experimental yet commercial at the same time.
But you can't really get more experimental than "Interstellar Overdrive" and a lot of the stuff they did after Syd (but before DSOTM) was the least commercial stuff they ever did. However, since you're not knocking Mr. Barrett, I respect your opinion.
(02-11-2010 07:04 PM)Electrophile Wrote: [ -> ]There's no way they would have done anything they did after 1968 if Syd was in the band. The best thing for all parties was Syd leaving.
We will never really know for sure that they wouldn't have been just as successful. We didn't get the entire picture of Syd's abilities (or how he would have evolved as a singer songwriter and guitarist) had things turned out different. So who knows which songs (ones that don't reference Syd, of course) Roger would still have written. After all, Roger was already writing songs in the Syd era.
Regarding the original post in this thread, asking for comforting words - I've read that Syd was eventually happy with his peaceful life after he retired, and I would like to think that's true.
syd had all the ideas on the first Lp. Clocks, radio/morse code signal sounds, delay boxes, bird sounds,slide guitars , megaphones.
These things were used over and over again . i.e The wall, DSOTM, On the 'revision Hell', Radio kaos and so on these things pop up in different guises.
I think the whole situation has been vastly over-exaggerated by the media. So much so that the 'image' most people have of Syd is a heartbreaking one but really i think the man was nowhere near as 'brain dead' as his 'image' suggests.
Songs like Vegetable Man and Jugband Blues were always going to lead people into those sort of conclusions, but i believe that in writing these songs Syd was making fun of the fact he couldn't take the pressure of expectation. He even says so himself...'and what exactly is a joke?'
The man done things the right way in my opinion, made his mark and then just got on with his life.
its sad he left music but I don't think he was brain dead. He wanted out of the lime light.
(05-07-2010 05:54 PM)Echo Of The Distant Sun Wrote: [ -> ]I think the whole situation has been vastly over-exaggerated by the media. So much so that the 'image' most people have of Syd is a heartbreaking one but really i think the man was nowhere near as 'brain dead' as his 'image' suggests.
Songs like Vegetable Man and Jugband Blues were always going to lead people into those sort of conclusions, but i believe that in writing these songs Syd was making fun of the fact he couldn't take the pressure of expectation. He even says so himself...'and what exactly is a joke?'
The man done things the right way in my opinion, made his mark and then just got on with his life.
You have the right idea!! Where do you think Vegetable man and Jugband Blues came from. I asked this Form a while ago "How Did Pink Floyd get their name" (nobody answered) (later)
Syd Barret is awasome. What he and Roger started...is PF today, I am so glad David added so much...and so forth...We have Pink Floyd.....
I was just listining to" Wish You Were Here" on cassette and to really start a Topic... Do any of you PF fans think this song was written for SYD...All comments...............
How did he come up with the name...
PINK FLOYD??
Syd named the band based on Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
I've always thought much of WYWH was written with him in mind.
Sadly those recording sessions were where Syd visited the studio and only Roger recognized him.
I think its sad some people think that since he gained weight which could be for many reasons he was brain dead
brain dead is when you are in a coma and will be for life.