We
have had three dives today, one mid-morning and the second
mid-afternoon for photographing. The third dive was in the evening to catch
lobsters
for dinner, so, we have moved out to sea to deeper water and dropped anchor where land
is not visible in ANY direction. There has always been land of some kind
in sight on any dive I have been on; this is the first time I have been
in this situation and it is a bit disorienting for me!
Six
of us dove into the pitch black water with weights attached to help us
sink to the sea floor. Eventually, with our search lights, we
spotted a pod of
lobsters. It was the strangest sight I've ever seen; they
scurried along the small sandy hills and valleys of the sea floor in single-file making a long undulating chain of living
crustaceans (
link below).
We caught a couple and had a delicious
lobster
dinner. During the evening a wind storm has been building up creating
large waves that make the boat heave from side to side. As usual, after dinner and cleaning
up, we passed a joint around then I took a quick shower
to wash off the dried sea salt still on me and my swim suit from the dive. I have come up to the
flybridge above the pilot cabin, the very highest point of the boat, to dry
off; everyone is below so it is empty. Although it is December, the wind
is warm so I slipped off my wet-from-the-shower swim suit and laid down on the deck. I feel the
Caribbean wind slowly evaporate the water droplets from my body, relax and let
the
doobie have it's way with me.
The
sky is empty of clouds with a bright moon and, as we are out to sea
with no city lights, the stars are
brilliant and sparkle against the sky like diamonds on black velvet;
they and the moon give enough light to see things but all that can be
seen are the large waves around the boat tossing it around. As I lay
here I gaze up at the millions of stars
and am transfixed with awe as
the boat rocks side to side.
Then the strangest things begin to
happen.
Almost
imperceptibly, the rocking of the boat slows down and the boat becomes
absolutely still, solid as a rock; as this is happening the
stars, with the same pace, slowly begin to swing back and forth over
me. The boat and the sky have switched behavior, it is now THEY that are
moving, NOT the boat and me, they are now swaying back and forth
overhead; I assume this is an effect of being stoned, so, I am
delighted, thrilled and I enjoy it!
Soon
I
have become aware of a drone slowly increasing in volume. I am
mystified and my hearing has sharpened trying to identify the source. Then
a horn (really? A horn?) and twinkly effects start; this is now getting
VERY strange! Is
this some kind of audio hallucination I'm having in addition to the
visual one? Then I hear a slow, hesitant and echoey guitar and I
realize I am hearing the stereo which someone has turned on in the
cabin below. Mystery partly solved but not completely! What is this
ethereal yet electrifying music?
I
hear someone come up on deck, soon I hear the click of the shutter of a
camera. I glance over and see it is Gene who is photographing me
without a flash,
only by the light of the moon and the stars.
photo by Gene Weber
I recognize I'm experiencing a distortion of time and space, so, with the stars
swinging back and forth above me, the clicking of the shutter and the
music
conveying me off to vistas unknown, I drift along and let
myself be carried away by the exhilarating sensation of floating in a
viscous ocean filled with stars and strange, delightful creatures
swirling around me.
As
I slowly sink into my fantasy I make a resolution. I will solve the rest of the audio
mystery, the discovery of what this other worldly music is that's
playing, later.
38 years later
Also,
of the thousands of photos Gene took on that diving trip he only sold
one. A shot of me feeding an enormous school of fish; there must have
been hundreds of them. The only thing that can be seen is a huge ball of
fish and two legs and feet with fins sticking out from the bottom of
the ball. He asked me if I wanted the shot but as there was no way to
tell it was me, I said no. I wish I had said yes. If you find a 1983
scuba diving magazine with a shot like that, that's me.
In 1965, Barrett belonged to a group called the Tea Set (sometimes spelled T-Set).
When they found themselves playing a concert with another band of the
same name, Barrett came up with "The Pink Floyd Sound" (also known as
"The Pink Floyd Blues Band", later "The Pink Floyd"). The name is derived from the given names of two blues musicians whose
Piedmont blues records Barrett had in his collection,
Pink Anderson and
Floyd Council.
Barrett was ousted from the band by the other members in 1968 due to
mental illness, and his excessive use of
psychedelic drugs, both of which had affected his ability to
integrate with the rest of the band and perform and create as a
musician. He was replaced by Gilmour who had initially been brought in as second guitar. The remaining
band members felt guilty for removing him, but they viewed it as
necessary; while they acknowledged Barrett's creativity they were concerned about his
severe mental decline.
Barrett produced some solo albums but in 1972, he left the music industry, retired from public life and
strictly guarded his privacy. He continued painting and
dedicated himself to gardening.
1961 - 1962
The
Syd Barrett ~
Self-Portrait painting utilizes an
impasto technique. It is almost abstract with a stylized image of
the young Barrett staring out at the viewer. It is typical of the
art college style, at
Camberwell in the early 1960’s. On Saturday, April 9, 2011, the painting was stolen from the
Idea Generation Gallery in the
Shoreditch district in the
East End of London
where it was on display. The singer’s former girlfriend, Libby Gausden,
pleaded for its safe return and offered a award of £2,000; the painting was
returned about a week later (
links below).
One story of how he acquired the nickname "Syd" is that at the age of 14 he was named after an old local Cambridge
jazz
double bassist, Sid "The Beat" Barrett, which claims Syd Barrett
changed the spelling to differentiate himself from his
namesake.
A star-packed tribute concert followed on October 5, 2007, at the
Barbican Theatre in
London.
David Gilmour,
Richard Wright and
Nick Mason performed the early
Pink Floyd classic
Arnold Layne, and fellow Floyd alum
Roger Waters also appeared. The bill included
Kevin Ayers,
Damon Albarn of
Blur,
Captain Sensible of
the Damned,
Mike Heron of
Incredible String Band,
Robyn Hitchcock,
Chrissie Hynde of
the Pretenders, and
John Paul Jones of
Led Zeppelin, among others (
link below).
The Official music video for the song,
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, is on YouTube and the visuals in it totally convey my first experience with it.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Tracklist:
Side 1:
1. - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)”, Roger Waters David Gilmour Richard Wright, Waters - 13:32
2. - "Welcome to the Machine”, Waters, Gilmour - 7:28
Total length: 21:00
Side 2:
1. "Have a Cigar" (featuring Roy Harper), Waters, Harper - 5:08
2. "Wish You Were Here”, Waters Gilmour, Gilmour - 5:35
3. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI–IX)”, WrightGilmourWaters(Parts VI–VIII, Wright (Part IX), Waters - 12:28
Total length: 23:11
