Shine On Syd: The Muse Goes Silent . . .

It is being reported today that Roger "Syd" Barrett, original member and founder of Pink Floyd, passed away on July 7th.

It may seem strange that a Reformissional church planter from Florida would be mentioning this on his blog. The truth is, I've alway been intrigued by Syd. While I'm a huge classic rock fan, I've never really been into Floyd's music all that much. Some of their songs I like and consider the guitar solo in "Comfortably Numb" one of the best ever recorded. For me, the "Syd Barrett factor" is the thing that has drawn me to Pink Floyd.

Syd was a man with many mental problems - most brought on by the combined pressures of fame and in-depth drug use. However, like many with mental diseases, he was a genius in areas of the arts. A painter at heart, Syd began to experiement with writing music. His lyrics were childlike at times, yet expansive in their concepts. His music was eclectic - containing strange instrumentation and time signatures - and ahead of it's time. From 1965 until 1971 he was both musically prolific and profoundly erractic. While it was his initial prescence in Pink Floyd that garnered their fame, he became a liability on tour and was eventually dropped from the band. After a second solo album and a final interview with Rolling Stone in 1971, Syd retreated from public life into a confused mentally-challenged journey as a recluse.

Over the last 30 years he has neither recorded any new music or conducted any interviews. Yet, he is still a great influence on many of the "legends" of the music community. David Bowie was heavily influenced by him. Jimmy Page kept trying to make contact with him in order to record music together. Pink Floyd's influence by him . . . well . . . he was their muse.

Syd's prescence is felt on almost every "classic" album Floyd did . . . from "Wish You Were Here" to "The Wall'. His troubled life was the catalyst for many of their songs, most notably "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Except for a strange studio encounter with him in 1975, Pink Floyd never really reconnected with Syd. the Barrett family asked that they not since talk of the "old days" only brought him mental anguish and pain.

Yet, here they were . . . Pink Floyd . . . their reunion the talk of last year's highly promoted "Live 8" concerts . . . paying tribute to him from the stage. Thirty years on he still had an influence on them . . . still being their muse.

In his short time in Pink Floyd - and as a solo artist - Syd acheived fame, financial security, pop star status, radio hits and a legacy that influenced his peers. He hung out with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, was stalked after by young members of The Who and Led Zepplin and sparked up-and-coming artists like David Bowie and Queen to push the outter limits of music.

I guess . . . for me . . I'm not that intrigued by his musical legacy. Instead I am drawn to his mental history. As a person who has AADD and suffers from occasional bouts of depression I am intrigued . . . and frightened . . . by his story. A voice of influence, he allowed the pain, the pressure and the chemicals to cause him to give up . . . to stop fighting . . . to stop striving . . to quit reality . . . to quit life. It is an incredible and sad story. A story that causes me to pause in my own battle.

As a pastor I influence people. I also suffer from a "thorn" that wants me to retreat at times . . . to become a recluse . . . to turn inward instead of upward for help. In some aspects Syd is a muse to me also. He is a cautionary tale of "what could be". His loss is a threat to my being. If he had all that talent and inate ability and lost . . . there is a fear that so could I.

Yet, I have something he didn't . . . the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I wish that he had had Them also- there is no indication that he did.

Syd's story is also a cautionary tale for us all . . . a muse for the ages. A tale that should make us take a look around us . . . to family, friends, neighbors, loved ones, church members, etc. . . . and see if they are struggling with depression, heartache, uncontrolled thoughts. Syd never found help on this Earth. Doctors, therapy, procedures and the medical world are temporary fixes. Real renewing of the mind comes only from Above.

There are Syd's all around us that need to find that Cure! Yet too many of us have become so trapped in staff meetings, planning sessions and brainstorming sessions preparing for next Sunday's "show" that we've become unaware . . . immune . . . of the true needs of some in our "flock". The needs that can't be fixed with great music, hi-tech staging, the latest video clips or cool dramas. It can only be fixed through personal outreach . . . through one-on-one encounters . . . through the only kind of ministry that Christ displayed throughout the Gospels - relational!!!

And so today we find out that the muse . . . a muse . . . has gone silent. In the end we are left with the haunting words of Syd Barrett's last "official" interview, . . . "I don't think I'm easy to talk about. I've got a very irregular head. And I'm not anything that you think I am anyway."

Shine on, Syd . . .