R.I.P. Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett died July 7 at the age of sixty. Best known as a founding member of Pink Floyd, Barrett descended into mental illness shortly after the band's inception. The internet is crackling with material about Syd Barrett, and you can find a pretty good summation of his life, work, and last years here at good old Wikipedia.

Apart from being uncontrollably psychedelic in both incarnations, Pink Floyd's best known works could not have sounded more different after he left the band. Perhaps because I am an indie hipster music snob, or perhaps because I was forced to sing "Wish You Were Here" too damn many times at a vaguely Christian summer camp, but I like Barrett-era Floyd much better.

Here are two clips of Pink Floyd, with Barrett, playing my favorite song of theirs: Interstellar Overdrive. This first clip is pretty short, roughly seven minutes long. The second is well worth the watch, but over half an hour. It also features footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before Yoko was synonymous in the common consciousness as such an unholy pain in the ass, both personally and artistically.

posted by Jeff Simmermon @ 10:31 PM