Barrett on the radio???

“I don’t think I ever heard this song being played on the radio before”–a passenger said. I replied,”Consider yourself lucky!” Another passenger declared with laughter, “Why?” My natural reply was, “Because it’s Syd Barrett. Only the most obscure musician in Rock History.” Silence followed and then the topic changed. But I continued to listen to 93XRT (my favorite Chicago radio station) play “See Emily Play,” which was a true Pink Floyd pocket symphony created by Syd Barrett.
Part of what I do at my job is provide daily shuttle service to the local train station for some of the commuters. I tend to have that station on in the background. Today it was in the foreground this time. As I have indicated before, Pink Floyd is perhaps my favorite band of all time. It is actually unusual for a radio station to play any of the Syd material. Kind of unheard of actually. Radio personality, Frank E. Lee, played it because he wanted to. Although the humor for me was after the song ended, The Killer’s “Mr. Brightside ” followed. Kinda weird if you ask me. Anyways, what am I saying here? Well not much I guess. I love 93XRT because the DJ’s are cool with their choices and insights. Syd Barrett was a mad genius of 60’s pop music and I found it rare to hear that song on a cold Friday night in the van out of the clear blue. Kinda like this post. Later…..C-Note

For more information on 93XRT, go here:  wxrt.radio.com

For more on Syd, go here: www.sydbarrett.com

Top Ten of Ten: #6 Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here (1975)

The 1970’s were filled with great albums and musicians that rocked the airwaves. Among all of these great offerings by bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and The Who; I found myself drawn to Pink Floyd and their brilliant album Wish You Were Here. This one from 1975 is easily Pink Floyd’s best album. When I say best I don’t mean it in terms of popularity or critical acclaim, that one belongs  to Dark side of the Moon. But musically and lyrically it is the bands most accomplished piece of work.  This album is a great follow-up to Dark Side of the Moon. This is an often overlooked treasure within Pink Floyd’s music catalog. It has survived the test of time well and is finally receiving more attention it deserved when it was first released. It is  an essential Pink Floyd album and I mean no disrespect  to “The Wall” which is when Roger Waters started to take over, but its the last great album the band produced. Wish You Were Here is very much dedicated to the founder Syd Barrett, who freaked out years before: and there’s funny songs about the evils of the music business (“By the way, which one’s Pink?”), and the touching ones about the band’s mysterious friend. The real star of the show, although, is the amazing production–with David Gilmour getting lots of room for his most creative guitar playing ever. That’s my story and I am sticking to it!