Syd Barrett: Wayne Coyne and Robyn Hitchcock Pay Tribute
Lostin70s
Shine on no more you crazy diamond. Pink Floyd co-founder and archetypal
sonic jester, Syd Barrett, who passed away in July, leaves behind a
pervasive, complicated musical legacy. The former golden boy of British
psychedelia withdrew from public life in 1971, pursuing a near-hermitical
existence at his Cambridgeshire home in England. The man who'd masterminded
one of pysch-rock's Rosetta stones, 1967's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn,
spent the last 35 years besieged by mental health problems, holed up behind
boarded windows to discourage prying journalists and fans. He last surfaced,
musically at least, in 1970 with a pair of David Gilmour helmed solo albums,
but his beguiling mixture of lysergic sophistication and childlike innocence
inspired a multitude of artists including David Bowie, Daniel Johnston and
Blur. Amongst those that proudly declare Barrett's influence on their work
are the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and England's poet laureate of the weird,
Robyn Hitchcock. Here, they share their thoughts with Harp on Syd's music
and memory.
Honesty
He was such a bright, unique freak in the early days. He's just so perfectly
genuine. You don't get the sense he's trying to be a star or shock you. He's
really singing from the heart of his mind. [WAYNE COYNE] Most songwriters
put a little of themselves into a song-enough to get by, enough to keep
people happy and give the listener something to identify with. Barrett put
his whole being and his camera angle in there. His songs are full of a life,
his life. This intensity has carried the songs through time, with more
momentum that they had when they were first released. [ROBYN HITCHCOCK]
Drugs
People are often attracted to the very thing that's worst for them. The
drugs probably enhanced his creativity for a while, as they did with so many
others, from Dylan to Brian Wilson. But those people all mortgaged their
futures to pay for the fireworks of 66/67. Barrett is only the most extreme
example. [RH] People think if he hadn't taken drugs he'd have been normal.
But, in Syd's case, if the drugs did anything they just exaggerated
something that was probably already going to happen. He was in a
straightjacket without literally being in one. That had to be horrible for
an explosive imagination like his. [WC]
Influence
You could hardly describe us without noticing the whimsy, the drug damage,
the fractures and the whole disregard of song structure. I'm not a musician.
I write music out of my head. Luckily, I've been compared to Syd Barrett.
Without Syd people might have just said I'm stupid! [WC]
The beautiful doominess of (Barrett) went straight into my soul, and has
stayed there ever since, dissolving slowly into my bloodstream. There would
have been no Robyn Hitchcock as we know him if it weren't for Syd Barrett.
I'm proud to have been his number one fan. [RH]
Essence
Even in his damaged state, he always seemed optimistic. People forget how
shining and full of possibilities that music was. You never got the feeling
he wanted you to pity him. You got the feeling he was apologetic for not
being normal. Most rock musicians go the other way, trying to show you just
how freaky and different they are. You got the feeling with Syd that he
wished he could think normally but just didn't. [WC] Many pieces of wreckage
and colored gems come to the surface when I plough my mind for songs.
Directness of thought, the collection of fresh impulses, openness to any
idea as long as it's natural and doesn't try too hard-these are all from Syd
and I hope they're in my songwriting. [RH]
Breakdown
This was authentic mental illness. This was a guy who really was not right.
It seemed better that he never showed his face again. His detachment was
real. He wasn't seeking attention or fame anymore. It's part of why we love
Syd so much. [WC] His music has so much of himself in it. Ironically, given
that he withdrew himself from his identity and stopped calling himself Syd
years ago. He also appeared to have no human contact apart from his family.
So perhaps he stored himself away in his songs. That's where he resides.
[RH]
Best Regards,Lostin70s
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