Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

All discussion related to Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett.
NUMBER61
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by NUMBER61 »

liking syds' solo material is akin to loving an ugly woman....
....we see depths of beauty to which others are blind.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by Wolfpack »

NUMBER61 wrote:liking syds' solo material is akin to loving an ugly woman....
....we see depths of beauty to which others are blind.
<.8.>

Barrett is a beautiful woman, in which we see an inner beauty which others don't. \:D/
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by NUMBER61 »

Wolfpack wrote:
NUMBER61 wrote:liking syds' solo material is akin to loving an ugly woman....
....we see depths of beauty to which others are blind.
<.8.>

Barrett is a beautiful woman, in which we see an inner beauty which others don't. \:D/

syd had an inner beauty, which others don't,

but,

he was never a woman, beautiful or otherwise.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by my breakfast. »

You see beauty but I see a painful sincerity.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by Idisaffect »

I see gigolo aunts and dandelions.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by danielcaux »

David Smith wrote:I'm just kind of wondering if there are a lot of other members of this forum who don't really understand the appeal of Syd for a lot of fans. Don't get me wrong wrong, i like his first solo album and bits of the second, but i would never say they are essential purchases for anyone.

The lyrics don't seem to have a whole lot of depth beneath their surrealism, PATGOD has not dated particularly well and i guess it just doesn't hold a candle to the atmospheric and powerful roger efforts to explain the human condition.
The thing about Syd for me, part of his appeal, is that he had a very unique and idiosyncratic sound. In a pop music world where 90% of the artists share a rather generic sound that's really an invaluable asset. Here and there his songs may sound a little off and disjointed, but they never sound boring or formulaic. Compare that with the solo outputs by the other Floyd members, whose songs don't even leave a lasting impression on the listener after a couple of minutes.

And while his music is surely not as epic sounding as some of the rock titans best efforts (Floyd, Queen, Zeppelin, or any other "essential" artist), his songs have a lot more of pure unadultered emotions puring out of them. That's something you can't really said about Pink Floyd music for example, where every tiny bit of emotion you can find in it has been carefuly crafted and stylized and adjusted to perfection premeditatedly, to the point that it pretty much becomes an act. Syd's are humble and simple songs, but very honest and with a lot of heart. Very pure art. That's his real appeal for me.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by moom »

danielcaux wrote:
David Smith wrote:I'm just kind of wondering if there are a lot of other members of this forum who don't really understand the appeal of Syd for a lot of fans. Don't get me wrong wrong, i like his first solo album and bits of the second, but i would never say they are essential purchases for anyone.

The lyrics don't seem to have a whole lot of depth beneath their surrealism, PATGOD has not dated particularly well and i guess it just doesn't hold a candle to the atmospheric and powerful roger efforts to explain the human condition.
The thing about Syd for me, part of his appeal, is that he had a very unique and idiosyncratic sound. In a pop music world where 90% of the artists share a rather generic sound that's really an invaluable asset. Here and there his songs may sound a little off and disjointed, but they never sound boring or formulaic. Compare that with the solo outputs by the other Floyd members, whose songs don't even leave a lasting impression on the listener after a couple of minutes.

And while his music is surely not as epic sounding as some of the rock titans best efforts (Floyd, Queen, Zeppelin, or any other "essential" artist), his songs have a lot more of pure unadultered emotions puring out of them. That's something you can't really said about Pink Floyd music for example, where every tiny bit of emotion you can find in it has been carefuly crafted and stylized and adjusted to perfection premeditatedly, to the point that it pretty much becomes an act. Syd's are humble and simple songs, but very honest and with a lot of heart. Very pure art. That's his real appeal for me.
Let me develop your point - it's not just how ones decorate their songs, it's even more about what they put into them - it whether touches people or it doesn't.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

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danielcaux wrote:Here and there his songs may sound a little off and disjointed, but they never sound boring or formulaic. Compare that with the solo outputs by the other Floyd members, whose songs don't even leave a lasting impression on the listener after a couple of minutes.
I think it's great how Barrett somehow, mostly keeps the song (or sketch) together. I think it's a talent to sound so scattered and meanwhile still so together. A lot of people would just sound drunk and off-key, but Barrett still has a light shining. And I think his voice often sounds very commercial. It can have a smooth warm vinyl sound, and in other songs a child-like sound. Gilmour, Waters and Wright don't have that much vocal variation in them.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by rememberaday »

Syd was a very charismatic soul. Well the thing with charisma is you either get it or you don’t. Same thing for Jim Morrison. They have this appeal which is not really based on logical or orthodox appeal. Many people find Morrison to be a pretentious wanker, while others love them to quite some extent.
I like both of them. I was instantly starstruck by Syd. He was the only reason i got turned upto floyd. I had tried with their main albums like the wall and animals, and though they were good, i just couldn’t myself to really really like them. And then i stumbled across the name syd barrett. I had been quite familiar with roger waters, but syd? No. And then i listened to his songs off Piper (The Gnome and Matilda Mother) the day after an exam. His songs touched some of the emotions in my heart that no other artist up till then had been successful in doing so. His songs were just so colourful, poetic, raw and even eerie ( in the non-conventional way). I was instantly hooked. His personality was just so...unique, so perfect.
What I really don’t get is why some people don’t get Barrett. I’ve always worshipped him. True genius.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by rememberaday »

Also wanted to add that Syd completes the rest of the pink floyd spectrum. After listening to Syd, I got other albums like DSOTM, The Wall and other more “sombre” Pink Floyd songs. It was like reflecting on distant memories, very much like corrupted childhood dreams.
Syd was, is and will always be the brightest light and the key to Pink Floyd.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by yippeeyoucantseeme »

I agree in some part, that anything after him just sounds so Syd. Saucerful... is a complete copy of Syd, like they were trying to replicate his sound because they knew it would be succesful.
At the same time, he could never move you with his guitar like Gimour can. One of my favourite pieces of music is the solo in Time. Something about it is just so tragic and brilliant, so while I see that Syd's spirit remained in the band, they expanded on the seeds he planted. DSOM is an unforgettable album. But when I was younger I resisted getting into post Syd Floyd, because I was "mad" with them. Of course I didnt understand things as much then as I do now.
But in answer to this thread, yes I do get the appeal... Madcap and Barrett are brilliant albums.
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by Wolfpack »

As a long-time Barrett fan, I must admit that recently, I get a bit annoyed by 'Octopus'. I'd almost say that it's a hardly a song. It's more like a Dylan rant over some chords going up and down. And as if that isn't worse enough, the proto-emo screeching vocals over it. As if he's not even trying to sing. Why come to a studio and then start screeching about wanting to be alone? He was already left alone. He deliberately stepped into the octopus ride again. Only to complain that he wanted to step out of it.
Underdeveloped composition, underdeveloped vocals, underdeveloped guitar playing. What's the difference with a train wreck?

Why did they choose this as a single A-side? Why not 'Late Night'? Or 'Here I go'? Why did the latter have to wait about 40 years to get at least a bass line? Why choose an anti-commercial recording that sounds very anti-commercial and almost unsaleable?
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Re: Does anyone else really not get the appeal?

Post by danielcaux »

Because it was his most trippy psychedelic song perhaps? Octupus is a strange song indeed, it was the song that sparked my interest on Barrett as a solo artist, but now just like you I can hardly stand it. Not because I think it's a bad song, but because is to chaotic and kinda mess with my mind. And it's ironic because those were precisely the qualities that made me like it in the beginning; perhaps it's just that I'm getting old...