Re: OT: Busking--it's hard for everyone

[Paul Richards <paulrichard10@adelphia.net>]

(If it was Britanny Spears i would have ran the other way.)

And miss a potential 'upskirt' shot?!

--
Paul Richards

---- Teddy Kumpel <teddybut@mac.com> wrote: 
> Yes, good article, thanks for forwarding...
> 
> if you want something to be true... it can be for you with a little  
> help from your imagination.
> 
> You obviously lean towards thinking that North Americans are herd  
> mentality and have lost touch with music and therefore will be more  
> inclined to interpret the findings of the article in that light.
> 
> I, on the other hand, interpret it as a bunch of very busy people  
> going to a place where they will do something important to them and  
> they don't want to be to be bothered with some guy jamming on a  
> violin no matter how good he is. How presumptuous and narcissistic it  
> is of us musicians to think that people actually want to hear music  
> on the way to work anyway. They've got things on their mind after  
> all. Gearing up for the day can be great and perhaps best done in  
> relative silence and anything other than that would be a distraction.  
> Personally I'd rather have control over what I listen to and that's  
> why the ipod is good. I bet a lot of those passers by had headphones  
> on too and found the violin to be an intrusion.
> 
> I'm all for freedom but busking, for me, sucks on many levels. It can  
> be an Intrusion, sometimes as bad as smoking cigarettes in a public  
> place. There are good points... but not as many as bad for me.  
> There's the rare occasion that a busker is doing something I'm  
> remotely interested in like playing a chinese violin or using  
> puppets. That I'll take off my headphones for... but a virtuoso  
> classical violinist playing Schubert or a bebop guitarist playing  
> standards? forget it. I don't care if it's Joe Pass himself, I'd  
> rather have holes punched in my ears with toothpicks. but... of  
> course, that's just me. So... no, if I knew it was Josh Bell or any  
> other famous classical person I wouldn't have stopped... if it was  
> Stevie Wonder I would have stopped. If it was Britanny Spears i would  
> have ran the other way.
> 
> I'm a professional musician who has never busked... so of course my  
> take is skewed towards non busking.
> 
> just keep it on topic... have any of you ambient loopers ever busked?  
> How did you get power in the subway? I think ambient looping would be  
> interesting busking since ambient music is all about setting a mood  
> without being in the way of people's thoughts anyway.
> 
> Teddy
> 
> 
> On Apr 9, 2007, at 1:12 PM, Richard Sales wrote:
> 
> > I thought the article was amazing not just for the actual  
> > experiment but for other snippets that occurred, like Bell denying  
> > that he is a genius and the 'if a tree falls' bit.
> >
> > The guy is obviously a top notch virtuoso and I'm dazzled that more  
> > folks didn't stop.  In a way, to me, it says something about how  
> > the importance of music has slipped for many folks.
> >
> > I also think it makes a comment about the conformity and herd mind  
> > of North America.  If folks had KNOWN he was a world famous  
> > violinist, they most certainly would have stopped - work or no  
> > work.  I mean, if Bob Dylan or Stevie Wonder or Britney Spears  
> > busked at the same train station you would have had a serious  
> > gridlock of gawkers and listeners.  BUT! If someone equally as good  
> > and creative (this adjective does not apply to Ms Spears) did it  
> > and wasn't recognizable as a 'famous' person they would have been  
> > shined on just like J Bell.  I found it very fascinating and high  
> > protein food for thought.
> >
> > I think it would be a fun experiment to repeat the experiment but  
> > with the Washington Post cameras in full view and maybe some  
> > bodyguards there to show that this was an important person.  I bet  
> > the results would be quit different.  And that would be telling.
> >
> > And I think it says a lot about our vocation (or hobby maybe) for  
> > some.  And it should be sweet solace for those who know they are  
> > very gifted and working at Wal Mart.  The moral might be, "Fame has  
> > its advantages." And it also brings to mind the brilliant human  
> > observation, "To them that have more shall be given."
> >
> >
> > richard sales
> 
>