RIP Syd Barrett

[david sumner]

well you dont like the stones ... and thats without even listening ... so its strange that you could condemn for forming opinions on bands that ive at least listened to

maybe the two of you will be listening to sufjan ...

[Massage...Bored]

well you dont like the stones ... and thats without even listening ... so its strange that you could condemn for forming opinions on bands that ive at least listened to

maybe the two of you will be listening to sufjan ...

I have heard the Stones plenty and I don't like them. I listen to entire albums, Ess, and I'm listening to Sufjan as we speak. I haven't listenend to the Stones entire catalog, but I have listened to a recommended list and found that I don't like it.

Oh, and "Wish You Were Here" is not a concept album about Syd Barrett, "Shine On You Crazy Diamnond" is one song about him on the album, which after a surprise visit by Syd, was dedicated to him.

[david sumner]

well you dont like the stones ... and thats without even listening ... so its strange that you could condemn for forming opinions on bands that ive at least listened to

maybe the two of you will be listening to sufjan ...

I have heard the Stones plenty and I don't like them. I listen to entire albums, Ess, and I'm listening to Sufjan as we speak. I haven't listenend to the Stones entire catalog, but I have listened to a recommended list and found that I don't like it.

Oh, and "Wish You Were Here" is not a concept album about Syd Barrett, "Shine On You Crazy Diamnond" is one song about him on the album, which after a surprise visit by Syd, was dedicated to him.

ive heard it still sucks enough to know that im not a fan of where mmj are these days ... i bought zee and never listened to it - true ... heard the first thirty seconds of off the record and i cringed

i just dont think its that big a deal that i dont always support-buy everything ever by any/all bands i listen to ... rem has some spotty stuff that im not sure i need to own ... the counting crows have a few weak albums ... oasis definitely fell off a long time ago ... ive never listened to the floyd and i have a soft spot in my heart for tortured artists ... thus syd fits the bill and i listen to his stuff just as much as i listen to chris bell or arthur lee or alexander skip spence or others ive mentioned

[HillgrassBluebillyFTW]

[thequandt]

Oh, and "Wish You Were Here" is not a concept album about Syd Barrett, "Shine On You Crazy Diamnond" is one song about him on the album, which after a surprise visit by Syd, was dedicated to him.

I like that you know your history; however, look at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_You_Were_Here_(album). I actually never mentioned it as a concept album, though I guess I did overstate the writing aspect of the album. My bad.

None-the-less he did leave quite an impression on the music community as a 'raver, seeer of visions, legend, and martyr'.

Q.

[david sumner]

Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett has died at his Cambridgeshire home.

The singer, 60, who suffered from an LSD-induced breakdown while at the peak of his career in the Sixties, died last Friday (July 7). It has been reported that he died from complications related to diabetes, however, other reports suggest the cause of death was cancer.

A statement from Pink Floyd said: "The band are naturally very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett's death.

"Syd was the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire."

His brother Alan confirmed his death earlier today (July 11), saying: "He died peacefully at home. There will be a private family funeral in the next few days."

'Syd' Barrett was born Roger Keith Barrett in Cambridge on January 6, 1946, the youngest of five children. A keen musician from an early age, he acquired the nickname which became his most prominent moniker aged 15, a reference to another Cambridge-based musician, also named Sid Barrett.

Barrett formed Pink Floyd along with Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright in 1965, reputedly naming the band after two blues artists, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, who had a place in his record collection.

From R&B beginnings, the band developed a unique psychedelic style which sat well with the swinging London hipsters of the time. They quickly became the house band at the acclaimed UFO Club on Tottenham Court Road in the West End, which championed acts from the psychedelic underground.

The band recorded their first single 'Arnold Layne', written by Barrett about a cross-dresser, in January 1967. Produced by 60s scenester Joe Boyd, the recording proved enough for EMI to offer the group a contract.

After scoring a Top Ten hit with 'See Emily Play', again written by Barrett, the band released their debut LP 'The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' in August 1967.

The record, on which Barrett wrote eight songs and co-wrote another two, was recorded at Abbey Road studios in London's St John's Wood, next door to where The Beatles were making 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.

As well as composing many of the tunes, Barrett was renowned for his innovative guitar playing, experimenting with feedback and distortion and using props such as a Zippo Lighter to get a unique sound from his Fender Esquire.

The UK public liked what they heard - the LP made the Top Ten and the band started to attract a devoted following. However, Barrett was becoming increasingly unhinged, which coincided with regular consumption of LSD.

The star started to behave erratically at gigs, most memorably at a show in San Francisco when he put hair gel on his head until it slowly melted over his face thanks to the heat from the stage lights.

Towards the end of 1967, friend of the band David Gilmour was asked to join as second guitarist to compensate for Barrett's behaviour. It got so bad that on the way to a gig in Southampton in January 1968, Pink Floyd elected not to pick him up.

When Pink Floyd's second album 'A Saucerful Of Secrets' was released in 1968, it contained only one Barrett composition, 'Jugband Blues'. His official departure was announced in March 1968.

Following this, Barrett holed himself up in his flat in London's Earls Court, resurfacing in 1970 to release two solo albums, 'The Madcap Laughs' and 'Barrett', which were not commercially successful. Among the people helping him out on these records were Gilmour and Waters. Gilmour also backed Barrett at his one concert during this period, in June 1970 at London Olympia.

In 1972 Barrett resurfaced in a band called Stars, but he quit after one gig at Cambridge Corn Exchange. In 1974, his old manager Peter Jenner managed to get Barrett to return to Abbey Road in hope of recording another album. When this also proved fruitless, Barrett sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and returned to Cambridge to live with his mother. He never returned to the music industry, and lived in the same house until his death. He was said to be fond of painting, writing and gardening. Pink Floyd ensured he still got regular royalty payments.

Pink Floyd of course, went on to achieve massive worldwide fame, and 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', from the 1975 album 'Wish You Were Here', was a tribute to him. Sensationally, Barrett made a brief visit to the studio when the track was being recorded, having put on weight and shaved his hair. The rest of the band have since confessed their distress at seeing him in such a dishevelled state.

[jewlee138]

while the two of you blare yer pavement tunes ill be explaining to you that i like what i like and theres a very real reason for it ...

i dont see why everything has to follow the same trajectory ... im not the same person i was when i was seven - thirteen - eighteen - twenty one - hell - im not the same person i was a few weeks ago

because of this some people that i used to talk with - hang out with - consider very good friends ... are no longer in my life - theres no contact whatsoever with a handful of them

maybe ill reconnect with some of them - but if not - oh well

same with music - i dont listen to the same stuff i did when i was younger - same can be said for certain artists/groups i enjoy currently - not everything they release is blindly encouraged and scooped up by me ... ill sit this one out with a few bands and maybe check back in with em later

maybe not ... but theres no formula and im never in a situation where i think to myself - oh well its time to move onto something else ... there are just as many bands that i own and adore everything theyve ever done as there are bands i feel the opposite about

but you wont realize or understand any of what i have to say because youll have gold soundz cranked!

Good stuff, Sean