Written tribute to Syd

[jamey1977]

Syd Barrett tributes are somewhat abundant on the web. He's been celebrated from nearly every angle it seems. My favorite written metaphor illustrating his fall from productivity was that article that equates the sensory overload of his drug-impaired, overtaxed mind to the superimposing of too many bright colors on one paper- black is always the final color. This is my tribute to Syd.

Many fans attempt to grasp, to understand what Syd's legacy meant. It's very enlightening and inspiring to hear anectdotes of his days of brilliance and his extraordinary sensibilities. And it's challenging to try and read between the lines and try to interperet clues as to the virtue of his true brilliance. Syd was a genious, and to serious floyd fans, we need to see the impetous that went into floyds most extraordinary creations- the fertile seed deep within, to shine light on their origins and to truly understand how it inspired other Floyd's post-barrett works and thus doing so, find inspiration within our own lives and creativity.
Syd's persona and his mystique were ultra-accessible to his adoring public who, in hindsight and retrospect celebrated his rise yet also saw to it to glamorize his downfall, to glamorize the mystique surrounding schitzophrenia; to warmly embrace his frailty as well as his creativity.

We never had the opportunity to analize this brilliant figure in real time; in the same vein as we never got to analize the day to day sensibilities of a Picasso. We never had a true format to view the every day musings of a Van Gough.
But in Syd we got, in a public format (mass media, internet) an avenue to critque and analize the writings, experiences and ponderings of a true frail mad genious; an avenue with which to truly step into his shoes through the eyes of his bandmates, colleagues and those who lingered on the fringe of his world. And we have his recorded output, his interviews and his paintings.
Yet within Syds insulated vulnerabilities there lied a reality that individuals of the functioning world would shy away from. So harsh and raw.
In this world of idol worship and counter culture embrace, everyone wants the expereince to be witness to extraordinary sensibilities of the gifted, but at the same time wants to view a sanitized reality that makes the essence of madness more palatable. Everyone wants a detached sampling of extreme reality; to be able to look into the abyss without it peering back. Syd was camera friendly, easy on the eyes, handsome even during his darkest depths. He didnt look the part of a "sickko". No matter what stage of his descent, you just couldn't look away (as judged by the appearance of all his photos). With Syd, there is always the tendancy to warmly behold.

Aside from his incredible work and his influence, we celebrate and glamorize the very illness that led to his total forfeiting of society and what it offered. A catch 22? Perhaps. But it's all done with such homage and warmth- to celebrate this man who brought so much to this world in his incredibly brief time of productivity. For that alone we owe him such a debt of gratitude- that stoned Crazy Diamond, that sparkling-eyed Seer of Visions, that mercurial Madcap, that Interstellar Effervescent visionary- Syd Barrett.

And to quote his sister Rosemary, 'we need people like Syd'.

By Jamey1977