I still don't quite know WHY I'm horribly sad at the passing of Syd Barrett today at age 60. The Pink Floyd founder helped to create one of the best debut albums in history, then pretty much imploded in a whirlwind of drugs, psychosis, and a couple of the most deranged solo albums ever committed to vinyl. Maybe I'm sad because of the lost potential. Barrett was either a musical genius or a magical fluke - all we have are a handful of songs as proof, and it's not enough. Had he held it together, perhaps he could've been TRULY great. Who knows, though? Maybe they'll go into his room and find 20 years worth of musical epics lurking in the closet. No one knows - and that was part of Barrett's magic. We idolize him and his mysterious flaws the same way we idolize J.D. Salinger. Barrett was an intense flame who burned out WAY before his time -- and then truly was never to be heard from again. Did drugs destroy Barrett? Or was the influence of drugs what made his tiny body of work so brilliant in the first place? Regardless, his limited but vital contributions to the music world made psychedelic music what it is today... and every time you hear a band like Spiritualized... or the Flaming Lips... or Neutral Milk Hotel... you'll realize that Barrett's crazy diamond WILL shine on for years and years to come. And there's no better legacy than that. RIP Syd.