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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 0:21:59 GMT 10
The music of Syd Barrett represents a deeply polarising response in people. As someone who was introduced to Floyd through the first two albums but fell in love with them via The Dark Side of the Moon, Syd's music was never really the Floyd that I loved and adored so very dearly, however I've always found it interesting and now very much enjoy it. But I still think this means we must address the common appraisal of Syd, was he a genius? Well he definitely was a visionary. His arrangements organised multiple bizarre, even non-musical sounds into a narratively structured build of pure chaos that owed its debt to modern classical composer John Cage (who loved the everyday sounds of traffic, clocks, footsteps, etc. for they could go anywhere unlike most music) and expressed a deep desire to evolve that is build inside all creative minds I find. Piper At a The Gates of Dawn is actually a lot more forward thinking in some ways than Sgt. Pepper in my opinion. Sure Pepper pushed the baroque aspect of popular music further than it may have ever been pushed abs unlike say Pet Sounds, another great baroque pop record, it sounded current. But as complex as all its filigree was and as eccentric as its ideas were, it still relies on traditional song structures which I actually find is a strength of the records songwriting. This doesn't make Pepper any less revolutionary, The Beatles were still playing with lots of unique interesting ideas but it wasn't as forward thinking as Piper and its futuristic look at arrangements.
Syd was also one of many guitarists (alongside Sterling Morrison and Wayne Kramer) who pushed the boundaries of the instrument into uncharted territories of uncompromising experimentation. Yet despite Hendrix being the crowning achievement of this league of musicians, Barrett was even less traditional than Hendrjx actually was and came the closest of anyone to Hendrix's genius. The electric guitar isn't a semi acoustic. You don't put pick ups on an acoustic guitar and plug it into an amplifier and have an electric guitar, you need an electric guitar to have an electric guitar. However most guitarists played the electric as they would an acoustic, even some of the most innovative. Barrett much like Hendrix harnessed weird, wacky, wonderfully inventive sounds because he realised that this wasn't just an instrument, it was a contained power of an electrical signal.
This all said I don't think Syd's songwriting was always good. The simple pop stuff was hit or miss and there's actually quite a few duds on Piper I think. Plus their music was extremely polished and melodically pleasing with a healthy dose of the British twee. All good things but it makes the music a bit less timeless so it's easy to see that some may criticise that.
So was Syd's genius. I think he had the potential to be for sure. And came close to it. Maybe he is. But it's definitely a maybe.
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 6:55:26 GMT 10
My answer would have be that while he was unquestionably a genius (and a mad genius at that; he pushed the boundaries of the electric guitar and had a very unique way with words that he put into his many great songs), there are other musical geniuses that do surpass him. Like, he's not a patch on say, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, Miles Davis or Fred Durst
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 13:14:21 GMT 10
My answer would have be that while he was unquestionably a genius (and a mad genius at that; he pushed the boundaries of the electric guitar and had a very unique way with words that he put into his many great songs), there are other musical geniuses that do surpass him. Like, he's not a patch on say, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, Miles Davis or Fred Durst Oh god not the Durst jokes again. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 13:17:22 GMT 10
My answer would have be that while he was unquestionably a genius (and a mad genius at that; he pushed the boundaries of the electric guitar and had a very unique way with words that he put into his many great songs), there are other musical geniuses that do surpass him. Like, he's not a patch on say, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, Miles Davis or Fred Durst Oh god not the Durst jokes again. Lol I didn't even notice that |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 14:10:07 GMT 10
Oh god not the Durst jokes again. Lol I didn't even notice that Who said it was a joke?  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 14:37:05 GMT 10
Lol I didn't even notice that Who said it was a joke? kelan loves his durst |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 14:40:28 GMT 10
Who said it was a joke? kelan loves his durst I'm not going to go on another one of my infamous Limp Bizkit rant just cause you guys want to have a playful troll. My day''s too busy for this nonsense. |
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Post by FuzzedOutRabbit on Dec 17, 2016 15:06:20 GMT 10
He defiantly went down some pretty different and experimental paths that probably just about no other musician tend to try. I also tend to see as him as a big influence in the sort of Shoegaze wall of noise genres. With bands experimenting with distortion, fuzz, and delay pedals to get that noisy psychedelic feel. See Emily Play could easily be one of the first few Noise Rock songs with the tweaky guitars through the middle of the track, whilst at the same time a great Psychedelic Rock track to mix up that sound and style.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:09:45 GMT 10
He defiantly went down some pretty different and experimental paths that probably just about no other musician tend to try. I also tend to see as him as a big influence in the sort of Shoegaze wall of noise genres. With bands experimenting with distortion, fuzz, and delay pedals to get that noisy psychedelic feel. See Emily Play could easily be one of the first few Noise Rock songs with the tweaky guitars through the middle of the track, whilst at the same time a great Psychedelic Rock track to mix up that sound and style. Interestingly enough I like the psychadeic sound of Syd, especially songs like Interstellar Overdrive (side note: I believe they used Interstellar Overdrive in the movie Dr. Strange, I was so shocked when it played). But definatley, his distortion-like rock style was one of my faves. But for some reason I don't like his solo work though, perhaps it's all too acoustic, but it just wasn't as interesting to me as his Floyd stuf...Anyone else having this problem? |
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Post by FuzzedOutRabbit on Dec 17, 2016 15:19:13 GMT 10
Interestingly enough I like the psychadeic sound of Syd, especially songs like Interstellar Overdrive (side note: I believe they used Interstellar Overdrive in the movie Dr. Strange, I was so shocked when it played). But definatley, his distortion-like rock style was one of my faves. But for some reason I don't like his solo work though, perhaps it's all too acoustic, but it just wasn't as interesting to me as his Floyd stuf...Anyone else having this problem? I feel you on the acoustic stuff a little bit. Some of it can feel forgettable, while the folky parts tend to be catchy. Octopus is probably one of his best IMO |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:19:16 GMT 10
He defiantly went down some pretty different and experimental paths that probably just about no other musician tend to try. I also tend to see as him as a big influence in the sort of Shoegaze wall of noise genres. With bands experimenting with distortion, fuzz, and delay pedals to get that noisy psychedelic feel. See Emily Play could easily be one of the first few Noise Rock songs with the tweaky guitars through the middle of the track, whilst at the same time a great Psychedelic Rock track to mix up that sound and style. Interestingly enough I like the psychadeic sound of Syd, especially songs like Interstellar Overdrive (side note: I believe they used Interstellar Overdrive in the movie Dr. Strange, I was so shocked when it played). But definatley, his distortion-like rock style was one of my faves. But for some reason I don't like his solo work though, perhaps it's all too acoustic, but it just wasn't as interesting to me as his Floyd stuf...Anyone else having this problem? On the contrary I find it as interesting - if not more - as his Floyd stuff. Along with Oar by Skip Spence, you can't get a better glimpse into the musical mind of a madman |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:20:47 GMT 10
Interestingly enough I like the psychadeic sound of Syd, especially songs like Interstellar Overdrive (side note: I believe they used Interstellar Overdrive in the movie Dr. Strange, I was so shocked when it played). But definatley, his distortion-like rock style was one of my faves. But for some reason I don't like his solo work though, perhaps it's all too acoustic, but it just wasn't as interesting to me as his Floyd stuf...Anyone else having this problem? I feel you on the acoustic stuff a little bit. Some of it can feel forgettable, while the folky parts tend to be catchy. Octopus is probably one of his best IMO Octopus is great, but I must say I prefer the version known as Clowns And Jugglers. Probably the most demented recording ever made, musically speaking: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjaB8HfoxQ |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:21:26 GMT 10
I'm not going to go on another one of my infamous Limp Bizkit rant just cause you guys want to have a playful troll. My day''s too busy for this nonsense. Quit being a striptease  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:26:50 GMT 10
Interestingly enough I like the psychadeic sound of Syd, especially songs like Interstellar Overdrive (side note: I believe they used Interstellar Overdrive in the movie Dr. Strange, I was so shocked when it played). But definatley, his distortion-like rock style was one of my faves. But for some reason I don't like his solo work though, perhaps it's all too acoustic, but it just wasn't as interesting to me as his Floyd stuf...Anyone else having this problem? I feel you on the acoustic stuff a little bit. Some of it can feel forgettable, while the folky parts tend to be catchy. Octopus is probably one of his best IMO I'm not too sure about Octopus again, perhaps I should re-listen, and I'll get a new perspective on it. I liked Baby Lemonade somewhat though, the folk-pop like psychadelic feeling was nice. But I kinda expected his solo work to be more similar to his Floyd stuff and I have to say I was somewhat dissappointed. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:27:38 GMT 10
I feel you on the acoustic stuff a little bit. Some of it can feel forgettable, while the folky parts tend to be catchy. Octopus is probably one of his best IMO Octopus is great, but I must say I prefer the version known as Clowns And Jugglers. Probably the most demented recording ever made, musically speaking: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjaB8HfoxQDidn't I listen to this before? Why is it "demented"? Just the context behind the song? |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:29:59 GMT 10
Octopus is great, but I must say I prefer the version known as Clowns And Jugglers. Probably the most demented recording ever made, musically speaking: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjaB8HfoxQDidn't I listen to this before? Why is it "demented"? Just the context behind the song? The overall atmosphere of the song, the way it's played and the way it's sung IMO |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:35:59 GMT 10
Didn't I listen to this before? Why is it "demented"? Just the context behind the song? The overall atmosphere of the song, the way it's played and the way it's sung IMO Idk, the only song I got a really demented feeling was from Jugband Blues, and that's 80% because of context, and that was also a Floyd song (technically) His music...Didn't really seem at all depressed or demented to me (just musically speaking). |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:39:44 GMT 10
He defiantly went down some pretty different and experimental paths that probably just about no other musician tend to try. I also tend to see as him as a big influence in the sort of Shoegaze wall of noise genres. With bands experimenting with distortion, fuzz, and delay pedals to get that noisy psychedelic feel. See Emily Play could easily be one of the first few Noise Rock songs with the tweaky guitars through the middle of the track, whilst at the same time a great Psychedelic Rock track to mix up that sound and style. Interesting point regarding shoegaze. I can definitely hear it. Wonder how Syd would have fit in as a member of Slint or My Bloody Valentine. |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:40:10 GMT 10
The overall atmosphere of the song, the way it's played and the way it's sung IMO Idk, the only song I got a really demented feeling was from Jugband Blues, and that's 80% because of context, and that was also a Floyd song (technically) His music...Didn't really seem at all depressed or demented to me (just musically speaking). I dunno, for me at least when I hear it I can't help but think that I'm listening to somebody going mentally insane |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:42:39 GMT 10
Idk, the only song I got a really demented feeling was from Jugband Blues, and that's 80% because of context, and that was also a Floyd song (technically) His music...Didn't really seem at all depressed or demented to me (just musically speaking). I dunno, for me at least when I hear it I can't help but think that I'm listening to somebody going mentally insane I think I can get that feeling from most of Syd's songs if I think about how his condition was mentally. In that sense, he was a mad genius like you said. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:44:01 GMT 10
I dunno, for me at least when I hear it I can't help but think that I'm listening to somebody going mentally insane I think I can get that feeling from most of Syd's songs if I think about how his condition was mentally. In that sense, he was a mad genius like you said. Yeah a lot of geniuses have a tendency to be quite manic. |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:47:39 GMT 10
I think I can get that feeling from most of Syd's songs if I think about how his condition was mentally. In that sense, he was a mad genius like you said. Yeah a lot of geniuses have a tendency to be quite manic. Yeah, look at Captain Beefheart - musically speaking of course |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:49:07 GMT 10
I think I can get that feeling from most of Syd's songs if I think about how his condition was mentally. In that sense, he was a mad genius like you said. Yeah a lot of geniuses have a tendency to be quite manic. I find that even if they're not manic, geniuses have very distinct personalities. |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:54:54 GMT 10
Yeah a lot of geniuses have a tendency to be quite manic. I find that even if they're not manic, geniuses have very distinct personalities. Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 15:56:51 GMT 10
I find that even if they're not manic, geniuses have very distinct personalities. Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic As much as I hate Fred Durst, there's no denying he has a distinct persona. So you've failed to anger me this time. |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 15:58:13 GMT 10
Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic As much as I hate Fred Durst, there's no denying he has a distinct persona. So you've failed to anger me this time. I failed to properly communicate with your St. Anger, it seems.... better luck next time |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 16:00:58 GMT 10
I find that even if they're not manic, geniuses have very distinct personalities. Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic Another Fred Durst Joke. I should have a counter. Also saying, they don't always have the most nicest personalities... Just putting this out there, do you think death/timing has to do with how iconic a musical idol is? Like, if Hendrix started making his music now, he probably wouldn't be as popular among teenagers right? And if Jim Morrison hadn't died when he was so young, do you think less people would've praised/remembered him? Fred Durst Counter (For BluesyThug): 2 |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 16:05:21 GMT 10
As much as I hate Fred Durst, there's no denying he has a distinct persona. So you've failed to anger me this time. I failed to properly communicate with your St. Anger, it seems.... better luck next time You right now:  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2016 16:06:09 GMT 10
Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic Another Fred Durst Joke. I should have a counter. Also saying, they don't always have the most nicest personalities... Just putting this out there, do you think death/timing has to do with how iconic a musical idol is? Like, if Hendrix started making his music now, he probably wouldn't be as popular among teenagers right? And if Jim Morrison hadn't died when he was so young, do you think less people would've praised/remembered him? Fred Durst Counter (For BluesyThug): 2 Well I think Hendrix would've sparked a lot of interesting things as Miles Davis was interested in working with him. |
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Post by BluesyThug on Dec 17, 2016 16:07:06 GMT 10
Yeah true; you get geniuses such as Bob Dylan, Fred Durst and Jimi Hendrix, and they have such outstanding, instantly recognisable personalities that generally go down in history as iconic Another Fred Durst Joke. I should have a counter. Also saying, they don't always have the most nicest personalities... Just putting this out there, do you think death/timing has to do with how iconic a musical idol is? Like, if Hendrix started making his music now, he probably wouldn't be as popular among teenagers right? And if Jim Morrison hadn't died when he was so young, do you think less people would've praised/remembered him? Fred Durst Counter (For BluesyThug): 2 Eddie, I warned on my introduction post that any mention of my name will be immediately whacked down |
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