Syd Barrett, the mad genius behind Pink Floyd and one of my all-time favorite musicians, passed away on Friday, July 7th at his Cambridge, UK home at the age of 60. More Syd info and updates can be found on his Wikipedia article. Shine on you crazy diamond.
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Syd Barrett Takes A “Trip” To See His Accountant
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here is some classic syd barret video:
http://grouper.com/GlobalMedia/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1042714
http://grouper.com/GlobalMedia/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1042713
http://grouper.com/GlobalMedia/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1042658
http://grouper.com/GlobalMedia/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1043054
..and you can do a search on Grouper.com …there is a ton of pink floyd stuff as well as Syd Barret vid’s
eR1c
bunch of interesting stuff on wikipedia about syd barrett, also Pink Floyd in general.
So, so you think you can tell heaven from hell,
blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here
We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have we found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here
To get a deeper understanding of Syd, I recommend the good summary of his life and an explanation of his mental illness that is covered here:
http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/003640.html
The death of Syd struck a chord with me and my mid-month podcast at The Best Radio You Have Never Heard (http://www.bestradiopodcast.com) is a tribute to the great rock visionary.
“Here To Do My Parts” is a tribute to Syd Barrett. Even though of course there is some Pink Floyd music in the show, it is more of a tribute to Syd’s vision. I like to think of it as traveling music for Syd’s iPod as he makes the trek to the Gates of Dawn, or perhaps some gardening music for the great beyond as, in his recent past, gardening was one of Syd’s few hobbies.
Have a listen and let me know what you think.
Perry/Chicago
http://www.bestradiopodcast.com
Thanks for sharing the links… the news struck me and rolled off; it wasn’t until later I was putzing with the revised Squidlist settings that I caught your note and visited the many wonderful links.
Anyway, the best summary of it all (but one should really tour all the links :-) and one I find very agreeable is a Slate article:
http://www.slate.com/id/2145531/
Syd was more then a great musician to me…I cried when I heard of his death. As Pink Floyd say ‘Syd was the guiding light of the early band start-up and leaves a legacy that inspires’ he was a truly great man. I writ a poem in honour of him:
The night birds whimper in morn of him through their cries
And with them I do too
We all hope you’ve found the right path
We all really miss you
They say you were crazy but I know underneath that crazy disguise,
and if anyone ever looked clearly enough through those dark holes for eyes, they’d find you
They’d find you inside waiting to break free,
To explode your true self through-out the world and to let everyone know…this is the real you…the real you we all love so…R.I.P Syd Barrett…
Love, Ben..
p.s – the website link I’ve provided shows a cool flash animation of the song ‘Bike’ by Syd :)
SYD BARRET WAS A GREAT MUSICIAN. HE WAS A MUSICAL GENIUS. IT WAS SAD WHEN HE DIED. IM SURE MANY PEOPLE LIKE ME WERE SHOCKED.
HAVE HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE.
Dear Syd,
I hope that at some point in this existence you found peace. If not maybe on the otherside.
Bless us all.
How much was the inspiration of Roger Waters an enduring
love and respect for his friend who went away and could not
come back.