This is a repost of an entry I wrote (on my original dave-fm blog) when I heard Syd Barrett died. The anniversary of his death is coming up and for some reason it’s been top of mind for me. Put on Barrett in his memory and revel in the quirky talent.

11 July 2006

 Well, that’s a sad way to wake up. I was reading the news with my first coffee of the day and I read that Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett died. I wasn’t quite awake yet, so I read it again, thinking my sleepy eyes were playing tricks on me. Nope. Sigh.

 Syd Barrett is mostly famous now for being a crazy recluse. However, he was a founding member of Pink Floyd and had a wonderful, quirky ear. He suffered a psychotic breakdown in the late 60’s and gradually was phased out of Pink Floyd. He released some solo stuff in the early 70’s. It’s really worth seeking out. It’s not necessarily everyone’s musical cup of tea but it’s fascinating to hear how a damaged mind creates.

 At various times since he and Pink Floyd parted ways, Syd Barrett was under-rated, over-rated, pursued, forgotten, lionized, pitied, and feared. He was mostly just a victim of his early success, his own mind, and the effect massive amounts of psychedelics had on his fragile hold on reality. A fascinating, sad study of a man. It’s unexpected twists of his mind, musically, that always kept me interested in Syd Barrett.

 The early history of Pink Floyd is pretty interesting if you’d like to find out more about Syd Barrett. Also, very early Floyd and Syd Barrett’s solo work is good listen.

Added 7/14:

As I was driving up to Michigan, it gave me plenty of opportunities to think about things. On a particularly mind-numbing stretch of road in Indiana, my mind starting wandering. And suddenly I remembered something that happened to me that had to do with Syd Barrett. Even though it happened years ago, I’m surprised I didn’t remember when I was doing my on-air tribute. Anyway, here is the story…

After I graduated from high school, my grandparents took me to Europe with them. My grandfather is a professional photographer and he would go to Europe every year to photograph. It was always their intention to take every grandkid after he/she graduated from high school so a bit of the world would be opened up to him/her. Being the oldest grandkid (on my Mom’s side) I got to take the first trip. We went to Iceland, France, Italy, Greece, (then) Yugoslavia, Germany, and many other countries. It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I traveled the way my grandparents always did–by car, packing lunches, staying with friends or in hostels, taking the out of the way back roads, and getting to know the locals. I even milked a goat but that’s a story for another time…

In Iceland, we flew into Reykjavik and rented a car. We made our way up Iceland, to the northern city of Akureyri. Along the way, we stopped to stay in a hostel. I remember feeling a little blue, a little homesick, a little out of place in the sea of Nordic looking people and was sitting in a field outside the hostel listening to Syd Barrett’s “The Madcap Laughs” in my walkman. A guy about my age approached me and started to talk to me. He spoke Icelandic, and I didn’t. There was no way to communicate beyond smiles and gestures. Eventually, he motioned to my walkman as if to ask what I was listening to. I put the headphones on his ears. His face lit up with a big smile, he started nodding his head, and he said, “Ah. Syd Barrett.” …True story.

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 11:50 pm and is filed under Left of The Dial.