R.I.P. - Syd Barrett 7.7.06

Syd Barrett, Co-Founder of Pink Floyd, Dead at 60

LONDON -- Syd Barrett, the troubled genius who co-founded Pink Floyd but spent his last years in reclusive anonymity, has died, a spokeswoman for the band said today. He was 60.

The spokeswoman -- who declined to give her name until the band made an official announcement -- confirmed media reports that he had died. She said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for many years.

Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright, and wrote many of the band's early songs. The group's jazz-infused rock made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and the 1967 album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" -- largely written by Barrett, who also played guitar -- was a commercial and critical hit.

However, Barrett suffered from mental instability, exacerbated by his use of LSD. His behavior grew increasingly erratic, and he left the group in 1968 -- five years before the release of Pink Floyd's most popular album, "Dark Side of the Moon." He was replaced by David Gilmour.

Barrett released two solo albums -- "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett" -- but soon withdrew from the music business altogether.

He spent much of the rest of his life living quietly in his hometown of Cambridge, England, where he was a familiar figure, often seen cycling or walking to the corner store.

Despite his brief career, Barrett's fragile, wistful songs influenced many musicians, from David Bowie -- who covered the Barrett track "See Emily Play" -- to the other members of Pink Floyd, who recorded the album "Wish You Were Here" as a tribute to their troubled bandmate.

The band spokeswoman said a small, private funeral would be held.

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also:
NME report

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shine on you crazy diamond....

Oh where are you now
pussy willow that smiled on this leaf?
When I was alone you promised the stone from your heart
my head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person whose armbands beat
on his hands, hang tall
won't you miss me?
Wouldn't you miss me at all?

The black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere.
He didn't care.
He stood in a field where barley grows.

His head did no thinking
His arms didn't move except when the wind cut up
Rough and mice ran around on the ground
He stood in a field where barley grows.

The black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
But now he's resigned to his fate
'Cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind.
He stood in a field where barley grows.

R.I.P

I think every classic rock station is doing a tribute right now.

[left]Remember when you were young, [/left]
[left]You shone like the sun.[/left]
[left]Shine on you crazy diamond.[/left]

[left]Now there's a look in your eyes [/left]
[left]Like black holes in the skies,[/left]
[left]Shine on you crazy diamond.[/left]

You were caught on the crossfire
[left]Of childhood and stardom, [/left]
[left]Blown on the steel breeze,[/left]
[left]Come on you target for faraway laughter, [/left]
[left]Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, [/left]
[left]And shine![/left]

You reached for the secret too soon,
[left]you tried for the moon.[/left]
[left]Shine on you crazy diamond.[/left]

[left]Threatened by shadows at night, [/left]
[left]And exposed in the light.[/left]
[left]Shine on you crazy diamond.[/left]

Well, you wore out your welcome
[left]With random precision,[/left]
[left]Rode on the steel breeze.[/left]
[left]Come on you raver, you seer of visions, [/left]
[left]Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine![/left]

R.I.P. Syd

[left] [/left]

P2

Hey you, may this brick in the wall rest peacefully on the dark side of the moon

Shine on you crazy diamond.

Rest in peace. You will be missed.

-Ghoti

Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same, takes two to know
Two to know, two to know, two to know
Why can't you see?

RIP xxx

I just had to join in, being a Pink Floyd fan and all:


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 trade your heroes for ghosts?

Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cold breeze?

Cold comfort for change? And 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.

Syd's set the controls for the heart of the sun.
One day we'll all join him.

Lime and limpid green, a second scene
A fight between the blue you once knew.
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground.
Jupiter and saturn, oberon, miranda and titania.
Neptune, titan, stars can frighten.
Lime and limpid green, a second scene
A fight between the blue you once knew.
Floating down, the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground.
Jupiter and saturn, oberon, miranda and titania.
Neptune, titan, stars can frighten.
Blinding signs flap,
Flicker, flicker, flicker blam. pow, pow.
Stairway scare dan dare whos there?
Lime and limpid green, the sounds around
The icy waters under
Lime and limpid green, the sounds around
The icy waters underground.

Syd Barrett hadn't been with us in the rest of the world for a long time. He was a ghostly legend while living, and he lived in a mysterious world known only to him. I know he had his reasons, he couldn't have been blind, but maybe he was embarassed if he ever understood his lasting legacy with his very own band, their themes of madness, alienation, loss and overall tone of outraged wistfulness.

Maybe there is a little bit of Syd in everyone, the all too understandable urge to retreat, to give up. I never understood Pink Floyd till I read about their history, and realized Syd was a childhood friend along with the other founding members. But there is surely a little bit of Floyd in all of us, the all too human experience of missing a lost friend. In this context, I found their best moments to have been when expressing his shared loss.

This is absolutely correct. Gilmour was brought in, initially, to supplement Barrett as he began to show increased signs of instability, and finally to replace him when he was fired from the band.

But the "-present" dates listed are seriously in error. Pink Floyd no longer exists. Apart from the one-time reunion to play the Live 8 show last summer, the band has not really existed as PF since 1994, although rumors of a reunion persist.

P2

Never cared for the Syd version of Floyd. Once Gilmore joined the band and Roger set the controls for the heart of the sun is where my enthusiasm kicked in. And once Rog left the band is where my enthusiasm waned. I give Syd credit for being an explorer and innovator in his day, but not the credit for making Pink Floyd what it became. By the way, which ones Pink? Its Roger Waters.

Waters always had the lyrical edge, Gilmour the musical edge. While the legacy and loss of Syd doesn't account for all that Pink Floyd became, the shared experience inspired both of them. Either of them were ok on their own, but in spite of their clashing egos, they were never as good as when they were together.

P.S. For the pedantics - Waters and Barrett founded Floyd. Glimour stepped in to replace Barrett during his breakdown, and all had known each other since childhood.

"Open your heart, I'm coming home"

Syd was obviously the spark that ignited the fire. The catalyst that made it happen in the first place. The 'Syd-Era' Floyd was much more whimsical and quirky. Post DSOTM Floyd (the turning point where they finally got their sound in focus) has been shot through with guilt at having given Syd the shove. Pretty much all of DSOTM & WYWH either deal with that guilt or else are a direct address to Syd himself.