The Death of Syd Barrett
international |
arts and media |
news report 
Tuesday July 11, 2006 22:44
by iosaf
Syd Barrett the lead singer & founder, composer/songwriter of "The Pink Floyd" has died aged 60 years.
May he rest in peace.
" I want to tell you a story
'bout a little man
If I can.
A gnome named Grimble Grumble.
And little gnomes stay in their homes.
Eating, sleeping, drinking their wine.
He wore a scarlet tunic,
A blue green hood,
It looked quite good.
He had a big adventure
Amidst the grass
Fresh air at last.
Wining, dining, biding his time.
And then one day - hooray!
Another way for gnomes to say
Whoooooooooooooooooooooam I?
Look at the sky, look at the river
Isn't it good?
Look at the sky, look at the river
Isn't it good?
Winding, finding places to go.
And then one day - hooray!
Another way for gnomes to say
Whoooooooooooooam I ?
Whoooooooooooooooooooooam I" - the Gnome by Syd Barrett.
____________________________________________________________________________
He's been sorely missed for a long time. We mostly don't as do much of those types of drugs now.
Perhaps some readers may add their personal memories of Syd, or accounts of how if in any way his Art 8or that of the music of early Pink Floyd he was in no doubt central to) affected them; their pacifism; their ethical stance;their clothing or interior decorative tastes; their sense of collective identity or their views idyllic or neo-liberal on fiscal policy; indeed their attitude to it all in general.
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5A genius.
...You Crazy Diamond.
Last monday was the anniversary of the birth of Tulsa. A scientific genius who invented amongst other things the term "microtulsa" which measures the ambient threat to the protesters in Bantry for example. His death got me thinking of how lives intertwine and brought me to wanting to mention the passing of Barrett a few days earlier. Tulsa lived most of his life in the USA but never disclaimed his twin Croatian / Serbian heritage on the contrary saying he loved both his "birth countries" equally. Thus last Monday the Belgrade Airport saw representatives from both Croatia and Serbia change the name to Tulsa airport in his memory. Tulsa was supposedly working on a "Death Ray" at his death, which led to the FBI seizing and confiscating all his papers, research that they still have classifed as "above top secret".
But apart from inventing AC electricty and death rays (which the press ofthe time called a "peace ray") Tulsa also pioneered the psychedelik orb - where a current jumps from a central coil to the outer sphere - and in some ways Syd Barrett played his part in making people want one of those pschedelik orbs and lava lamps (which were more a commercial interpretation of the Soviet thermodynamic and chaos theoretician Pyrogine) in their homes.
And yes kids - there really was a time when people lay about on synthetic furry rugs, wearing very little if any clothing, gurgling to themselves with happy smiles on their faces and eyes the size of saucers.
& it was all mostly innocent post war generation fun.
RIP.
"Death is the sanction of everything the storyteller
can tell. He has borrowed his authority from death."
(Walter Benjamin)
or:
Kaspar is dead (Hans Arp-Trans: Ralph Manheim)
alas our good Kaspar is dead.
who will now carry the burning banner hidden in the pigtail of clouds
to play the daily black joke
who will now turn the coffee mill in the primeval barrel
who will now entice the idyllic deer out of the petrified paper box.
who will now confound the ships on the high seas by addressing them as
parapluie and the winds by calling them keeper of bees ozone spindle
your highness
alas alas alas our good Kaspar is dead. holy ding dong kaspar is dead.
the cattlefish in the bellbarns clatter with heart-rending grief when his
christian name is uttered. that is why i keep on moaning his family name
Kaspar kaspar kaspar.
why have you left us. into what shape has your beautiful great soul migrated.
have you become a star or a watery chain attached to a hot whirlwind light or a transparent brick on the groaning drum of jagged being.....
a hundred letter for fall and rise again. (fin again....
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
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