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Music of the mad.
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The Sea Cat
The Sea Cat
3608 posts

Re: Music of the mad.
Aug 17, 2011, 10:36
Forgive me for mentioning the obvious, but I think Nick Drake would count. A sense of separateness and longing, plus rejection, especially in Pink Moon. Brian's acid overload and childhood abuse problems makes Pet Sounds the beautiful thing it is. People who refer to it's lyrical niavety in places are missing the point. That deliberate naivety is an essential part of its beauty.

I've not heard Oar yet, but I keep meaning to get it. As for Syd, I love the two solo albums, Barrett in particular. Side 2 of Madcap has some raw psychological pain on some tracks that I find hard to take. I first heard Syd solo when I was 12, and I was completely unaware of his mental health difficulties. I just loved the sense of a unique inner world. I still do. There's a lot of fun and humour in there too.

John Cale's 'Music For A New Society' would definitely count, where he was at headwise. Same with a quite a few of his individual songs.
John Fahey 'Legend Of Blind Joe Death' would be another.


Would a change of mental state seen as positive count for the artist? John Coltrane's mystic awakening created a sonic explosion that alienated a lot of Jazz heads. He stayed outside from then on.

Excellent thread, by the way. It's got me thinking as well.
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