Awe, man. That's too bad. I'll play my Piper at the Gates of Dawn LP tonight with a candle (and maybe something else?) burning.
Have a good trip Syd... wish you were here...
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
Celebrities always die in twos right?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
There's an old line drawing of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and John Lennon under the words "We all Shine On" (referring to Instant Karma, not Crazy Diamond). Very popular in college dorms back in 1988.
We added Syd Barrett to ours, even though he was still alive.
I always wondered where they got the eyebrow shaving scene in the wall from.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
I have an old poster of that drawing Dag.
I can't say I liked the Syd Barrett stuff as much as I loved Pink Floyd without him. But I acknowledge his place in Pink Floyd's history/legacy.
Posted by LostSomewhereDandy (Member # 9562) on :
I could be posting late, but I believe it is a sad thing that Barrett died. He truly was the beginning genius behind the whole band. The first person I've heard of who has been diagnosed with "terminal psychedelia." Also, "Piper" was truly a phenomenal beginning, in my opinion.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Yep, pretty sad. And he burned out before the band really had its huge successes, so never even really experienced that level of stress.
I don't really "feel" his influence on the band in the albums of theirs that I like the most, but still, he was an original.
Posted by LostSomewhereDandy (Member # 9562) on :
I agree. Dark Side and Wish you were Here were both essentially without him, except for Wish You Were HEre, which I'm sure you know the story.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I read he was gone by 1967, which would mean that he wasn't part of the group for the Meddle album either. Sort of makes him irrelevant to the Pink Floyd I know and love. Sort of the Stu Sutcliffe of Floydness.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I think there's a lot of Syd's influence left in Meddle.
Posted by Bean Counter (Member # 6001) on :
Isn't he the guy who wrote Terrapin?
BC
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
BEan COunter, do you mean Terrapin Station? That is Jerry Garcia. Actually, probably Robert HUnter, who wrote most of the lyrics for the Dead.
As for Syd, he is one of those people we thought were already dead. I am not trying to be funny. We learned a few years ago that he was still alive, and we were very surprised. He just dropped off the map.
I think his whole story is very heartbreaking.
Another sad case recently was Vince Welnick, onr of the Dead's keyboardists, who was very depressed, and killed himself.
Posted by LostSomewhereDandy (Member # 9562) on :
Oh my goodness...Vince Welnick? Any reason for the extreme depression? The dead is still touring!
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Vince was the keyboardist until Jerry died. The Dead is not really still touring, they just occasionally tour, as opposed to the perpetual tour they did for however many years.
After Jerry died, the rest of the Dead pretty much cut Vince loose. (I will post a very sad link if I can find it) He kept almost stalking them, and never accepted the fact that he was no longer a member.
He killed himself a couple of weeks ago in a horrible way. Again, I will post the link.
He was a brilliant musician. I often wonder what it is that makes people crack. Is it the lifestyle? Or do they become absorbed in the lifestyle as an offshoot of their brilliance? Or some other set of reasons?
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Here is the article from the San Fran Chronicle. Excellent article.
Agreed. Very good article. Very sad, too. I think the initial decision to finally committ suicide is within the person. A mixture of all those things probably sent him completely over the edge. How awful for the wife.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)