Part of the reason I like Pink Floyd

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I've read numerous books on the Floyd (they were my special interest for many years) and it's well documented that Waters was also quite cruel to Barrett near the end--although Waters has always done his best to deny it. He and Mason were hungry for success and when Syd became an obstacle, they dumped him. But Syd's "ghost" remained with the band throughout its career. Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, and The Division Bell are all littered with references to Syd.

Journalist Dave Thompson probably said it best: "Roger Waters may have gone to the dark side of the moon, but without Barrett's example...he'd have been lucky to reach the other end of the street."

David was put into an awkward position when he replaced Syd in the band.

Because he was friends with Syd and he was shocked to see what state Syd was in when he returned after two years. Probably David felt more sorry about it than Nick or Roger.

I think Rick was generally uncomfortable with the situation, but maybe that's because he was generally an awkward person. <3

Yes, Rick Wright confessed that when Syd left the band he would have gone with him, but he knew Barrett was in no condition to continue making music. Wright is another member of the band who suffered quite a lot of abuse from Waters, who has a disturbing history of bullying vulnerable people (although he loves to play at being humanitarian when the cameras are on him). It reached a peak during the making of The Wall, when Waters forced him out of the band entirely. Many people don't know that Rick wasn't officially in the band when they played the Wall concerts--he was a salaried employee at that point, finishing his time in the band. And because the shows were so expensive to produce, he was the only one who actually made a profit doing them! Nice bit of irony, there.

According to something I read it is true Roger Waters was a bit of an ass, and he even admits it if you watch the special features on The Wall I think, but yeah its not something he likes about himself at least that is the impression I got. Also it kind makes sense when he talks about why some of what took place in the wall did. Other then that though I think it was probably somewhat hard for the other members to deal with so they might not have handled it right......and of course Syd Barret in his state could not really change what was going on at least from my understanding so far. It is sad how in a lot of bands the members end up not getting along...but at least they still make good music.

I found this album of Symphonic Pink Floyd really good too, it does justice to the originals rather than making them into muzak versions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN--9-tbiio[/youtube]

Agreed..I got that impression too, from several sources. I was fortunate enough to see Waters live on the recent The Wall tour as well, and he really did strike me as very egotistical. Granted, the show was meant to be spectacular and over-the-top in a good kind of way, but it takes a very driven and self-centred personality to write that material in the first place and make such an ambitious show of it. He's admitted that the fame-related stuff distanced him from reality but it's quite chilling to me when I remind myself how autobiographical The Wall is!

Yes it is pretty autobiographal, though its not just about Roger Waters.....it also has some stuff about syd barret and maybe even other members....and just people in general. I mean that is why I like it because its really just about the state of the world and people in it with obviously a lot of stuff from the bands history. hell the wierd thing is even I can relate to some of what goes on in The Wall, though I am far from egotistical..........I mean I am certainly not rock star material. lol

Bob Ezrin (producer of The Wall) once said that "Nobody Home" on The Wall was intended by Waters to be a shot at Rick Wright. ("Got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains...") Waters is very good at those little lyrical jabs. On his Amused to Death album, he gave one to Ezrin ("Each man has his price, Bob") because Ezrin worked with Gilmour, Mason, and Wright in the post-Waters Pink Floyd. And there are a lot of thinly-veiled references to Gilmour and Mason on Amused to Death. Such as:

The vulture and the magpie took the cashbox from its hook
The monkey in the corner wrote the figures in his book

("The monkey" in this context is probably a reference to Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, whom Waters did not like. O'Rourke was "a glorified booker" in Waters's opinion.)

Sorry if that's too much information. I told you I was obsessed with the Floyd for years, and the trivia is still rattling around in my brain.

For whatever reason I find that to be more or less hilarious, at the moment...but I am pretty obsessed as well, or at least I was for the past year I would say I have not really had any interest in any of my interests if that makes any sense. I still listen to Pink Floyd at least once a week though I would say but probably more then that......and in am in the slow process of reading this book on Syd Barrets life story I got. Also I still have most of their albums on CD, Dark Side of The Moon, Meddle and The Wall on Vinyl as well as The Wall movie on DVD and other random things pertaining to them so yeah it was certainly an obsession I find their music to be rather addicting.

So don't worry about it being too much information.

I was 15 when the wall came out , saw it over 10 times in theateres

Cool.

My favorite Pink Floyd album on the whole is "Animals." However, two of my favorite individual songs are from the later album, "Momentary Lapse of Reason" with I think just Gilmour "Learning to Fly" and "One Slip." Those two songs are, yes, a bit more poppy and less crazy trippy and edgy, but I like the sound better. I liked Pink Floyd as a kid, but then as soon as I got Yes's "Going For the One" on cassette at my library, I was hooked. I think Yes was light years better than Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd got more popular, basically for an edgier image, imo.

However, none of my friends agree with my assessment about the greatness of Yes. Oh well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8AJNzq2B0s[/youtube]

"Us and Them" is a large part of the reason I like Pink Floyd.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wYMb4e1zwg&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

Well I never heard of his family suspecting he had AS, though from what I read I think its a possiblity and though I can't say for sure if he had schizophrenia or not but I haven't read anything that rules it out and i think its possible....And was this a substance in other then acid, because I know he did a lot of acid at least according to everything I've read. And well psychedelics in excess can be pretty intense I've been there...not with acid but shrooms which is a bit different but a psychedelic is a psychedelic.

But in my opinion all the acid might have done is bring out what was already there....and i guess I'll read up on whatever other substance your saying he took.

I think it it is a tragedy when Syd Barrett starts his own Band. And he is the chief pillar of the band. And without him the band Pink Floyd would not exist. Yet as soon as the other band members learn to copy his music style Syd gets fired from his own band and for the rest of his life he is treated like dirt. I mean to me a band should be almost like family but I guess today's music is just a business.

Well .... the punk sound actually was around in the 60s. MC5, for example. People just couldn't deal with it.