I believe in yesterday

It's Syd Barrett's birthday today. The tendency is to look at this like it's something we should mourn, since he died in 2006. But in the larger scheme of life, it's like grieving the passing of the 100 watt incandescent light bulb. I never knew him. I only know him through a few recordings. (I've known a few light bulbs, but let's not get too literal here.)

There are the officially released tracks on "Saucerful of Secrets", "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," and a few solo albums that I haven't kept track of. In the past few years, however, there are multitudes of album outtakes, BBC studio sessions, and random live recordings that have surfaced.

So I guess my point is that Syd lives. There is music emerging and new crumbs to digest. Harkening back to Syd's life doesn't grant us much richness, but listening to the music does. So I think it's time to cue up some of those early BBC sessions...

Later:  While listening to c. 1967 "Interstellar Overdrive" freakout, my six year old daughter cocked her head a little bit and calmly remarked: "That sounds like Star Wars ships."

I always wondered where George Lucas got his inspiration.