This is a hilarious Flash animation from the folks at Meth Minute imagining what a trip to the accountant might be like for the late Pink Floyd founder, Syd Barrett. They nailed it perfectly, especially the songs, which sound exactly like Syd Barrett:
See also:
I was completely blown away when I first saw the movie The Wall. It brought to the silver screen the high-concept art album The Wall that I had by then practically worn out and brought it to life with the stunning animation of Gerald Scarfe. Thanks to blackdee at YouTube for providing the entire movie. Check out Bret Urick‘s superb analysis of of The Wall, if you’re so inclined.
I found this when I was researching my Syd Barrett post. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Enjoy (it runs 95:10):
I am a big Pink Floyd fan so I was sad to hear of Syd Barrett‘s death.
Preceding Jim Morrison, Barrett‘s music career and life perhaps provide the template for the stereotypical rock star: A brief moment of blazing musical brilliance followed by a descent into drug-induced madness:
VH1 Legends: Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd, Part 1 (from xJadax at YouTube):
VH1 Legends: Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd, Part 2 (from xJadax at YouTube):
Though Barrett’s life was certainly sad, his death would have been harder to take had he not long since ceased producing music. His musical legacy, though, is profound. He’s been compared to the French poet Aurthur Rimbaud and the comparison seems apt for both the artistic genius and personal destructiveness parallels. Barrett defined the early Pink Floyd sound and, as a psychedelic music pioneer, the entire genre.
The two singles that put Floyd on the musical map were Arnold Layne (banned from radio play in England because it was about a transvestite) and See Emily Play.
Pink Floyd – Arnold Layne Video (from thesectional at YouTube):
Pink Floyd – See Emily Play Video (from emp3roar at YouTube):
The band’s first album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, was almost entirely written by Barrett.
As you can see, some of the vids are mashups but I tried to pick the most clever ones I could find. I couldn’t find Matilda Mother, Pow R. Toc H., or Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk at YouTube, so if you know where I can find them, let me know and I’ll add the songs to the playlist. Otherwise, it’s complete:
I am also a huge fan of both of Barrett’s solo albums, the rather exploitatively titled The Macap Laughs and the following, eponymous Barrett, and even the posthumous Opel. While there are many brilliant musical moments on these recordings (such as songs like Golden Hair, Baby Lemonade, and Terrapin), they are almost the musical equivalent of The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky for the glimpse they provide into the artist’s psychosis.
(Listen to streams of Barrett’s solo songs at Prog Archives and of the BBC Peel Sessions.)
In high school, I remember being both amused and delighted that the soundtrack for an abnormal psychology film we had to watch largely consisted of early Floyd.
After Barrett was kicked out of the band, and thus without a songwriter, the remaining members had to look within to replace his talent. Though the band’s sound would change with David Gilmour and Roger Waters emerging as creative forces, Syd’s influence on his mates would remain strong as the theme of insanity would begin to permeate their work.
There are several direct references to Barrett in post-Barrett Floyd. On their 1973 smash hit album Dark Side Of The Moon, the song Brain Damage contains the lyric "If the band you’re in starts playing different tunes/I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon," a direct reference to Barrett’s on-stage behavior.
Brain Damage Video (from Andrew72287 at YouTube):
Brain Damage Studio Session Video (from at Vanvirgo at YouTube):
During the recording of Shine On You Crazy Diamond for their 1975 release, Wish You Were Here, Barrett appeared in the studio, obese, bald (with even his eyebrows shaved off), and so unrecognizable that once it dawned on the band members who it was, it shocked them and reduced them to tears.
David Gilmour Performing Acoustic Shine On You Crazy Diamond/Terrapin (from HuntingtonStreet at YouTube):
David Gilmour Performing Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Part 2 (from HuntingtonStreet at YouTube):
Shine on You Crazy Diamond, of course, is entirely about Syd Barrett. The S, Y, and D from the title spell out his first name. The Diamond in the title may refer to The Beatles‘ song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, which is about LSD, and which, again, could be a circular reference to Barrett’s own drug use.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond Lyrics:
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
In the title song of the album, the person they wish were here, of course, is Syd.
Reunited Pink Floyd Performs Wish You Were Here at Live 8 (from skatesorryswitch at YouTube):
The album and the subsequent movie of The Wall contain very strong insanity themes. In the movie, just prior to the song Nobody Home, Pink shaves his chest hair and eyebrows, an obvious allusion to Barrett. This is the following scene in the movie, for the song Nobody Home, where Pink emerges after shaving his eyebrows (from gh0stgirl at YouTube):
After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett spent the remainder of his life at his mother’s home in Cambridge, where he painted, tended to his garden, and was occasionally pestered by stalking journalists and fans (from drkmiller at YouTube):
Barrett’s music inspired such influential musicians as Paul McCartney, Peter Townsend, Jimmy Page, David Bowie, and Eric Clapton. Other musicians and bands that have covered or been influenced by his work include R.E.M., Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins, Phish, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure‘s Robert Smith, The Flaming Lips, Camper Van Beethoven, Pearl Jam, Dream Theater, Blur‘s Graham Coxon, and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ John Frusciante.
For my money, though, there is no contemporary musician whose music is more clearly influenced by Barrett than Robyn Hitchcock. My favorite Hitchock album is the 1989 release Queen Elvis. You can hear Barrett influence on that album’s song, Madonna Of The Wasps (from smile67 at YouTube):
Rest in peace, Syd.
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