One question of Syd that baffles me

[sydmundfloyd]

Syd had lost all of his desire to "play the game": he hated playing clubs that wanted to hear only "See Emily Play"; he hated the lip-synching performances; he hated the pointless interviews; he hated the pressure of having to come up with the next hit; he hated the straitjacket methods of recording; etc.

So Syd became uncooperative. One of the best examples is the Pat Boone show, where he gamely mimed in the rehearsals, but stood like a mannequin for the actual take.

The million dollar question: why didn't Syd simply say to the guys: enough is enough, I'm out. Why continue to travel to all of the band's dates?

For example, on Feb. 10, 1968, Syd drives hundreds of miles to join the band. They didn't let him, but what was he thinking? Drive hundreds of miles to stand with your arms by your side for an hour?

[nosaj]

I think he wanted to carry on doing something else, just not the same conventional stuff night after night (like getting two chicks to play saxophone ).

[Mr Kite]

He wasn't thinking clearly. The mechanism which filters internal and external stimuli was not exactly functioning at optimal levels. Consequently, diverse and and sometimes contrary impulses were going at the same time. The poor sod was quite confused. Ultimately, his response was to withdraw where it was quieter.
But to answer your specific question - part of him still wanted to be in the band - part of him did not.
Or that is my guess.

[RonToon]

They became popular during a very short period of time which made Syd unstable and was exacerbated by his heavy use of LSD.

[rememberaday]

How would we know what he knew?

[Wolfpack]

Syd had lost all of his desire to "play the game": he hated playing clubs that wanted to hear only "See Emily Play"; he hated the lip-synching performances; he hated the pointless interviews; he hated the pressure of having to come up with the next hit; he hated the straitjacket methods of recording; etc.

Lots of people hate going to work. His hobby became work.

For example, on Feb. 10, 1968, Syd drives hundreds of miles to join the band. They didn't let him, but what was he thinking? Drive hundreds of miles to stand with your arms by your side for an hour?

Maybe he hoped for a second chance? Being out of Pink Floyd for some weeks, may have given him some time to think. You don't know what you've got, until it's gone.
I think Barrett was confused and thinking on the short term. Maybe he would have played great that night. But if he would have been invited into Pink Floyd again, he would again breakdown. That's my guess. He was too unreliable to be a professional musician.

[my breakfast.]

Some possible ideas that I have barfed up out of the ether...

Syd would have difficulty getting another band (of better musicians) to deal with his music. Piper at the Gates sounds so unique because the band hadn't learned from the Chuck Berry school of music exclusively. There is a sly nod to the blues, a sly nod to Bob Dylan but Syd was such a unique guitarist that he would have never got the Yardbirds gig (for example).

Lets call it the Barrett wager; Either have everyone hear a compromised version of your music, or have nobody hear the perfect vision. Compare Bruce Springsteen (who changed his whole image and outlook to cater to baseball stadiums full of morons who didn't understand Born in the USA) to R Stevie Moore (records 400+ songs, releases them on an ad hoc basis to anybody who cares and sends him a blank cassette tape or a wrinkled $5 bill).

Barrett thought a new music movement was round the corner. He mentioned this in an interview. He thought that maybe if he sat it out, or bid his time (ha) in Pink Floyd, this new movement of sound + visuals as a holistic live experience would flood the country, not just a few trendy postcodes in an otherwise drab and terminally conservative London.

Music had become too political. Pink Floyd came around just at the end of the era of shit managers, shit billings and an attitude that 'pop' music would fizzle out next month. Pink Floyd played the oldschool game of touring shit theatres in shit corners of the provinces with banal pop acts, 15 minute slots and mobsters lurking in back alleyways. The next wave of music that Pink Floyd would tap into came from the MC5/Pink Faeries school of anarcho-political thinking. Imagine Ladbrook Grove squats, Twink Adler and co running around, a genuinely mixed-race community of early pre-racist skinheads, rude boys, the first scratchings of reggae and the first threat of heroin. Everything was political. Politicize the personal was the motto of the then-active second wave feminist movement. Would these people give a shit about gnomes called Grimble Gromble?

In painting his floorboards alternating red and black, Syd painted himself into a corner. He couldn't kickstart a band like Hawkwind, his current band were successful at a time when you fixed hard and fast to a single career plan. He had never found a true artistic talent that notably transcended his influences. He couldn't go back to being a painter, his lyrics and poetry didn't resonate with 'kick out the jams motherfuckers'.