Would you stop for this?

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Its similar to people I know who don't like going to concerts because the songs don't sound the same as it does on the albums.

Music, for me, has always been about the moment.

[Alex]

I wouldn't stop. But I also wouldn't pay $100 to watch him play in a concert hall.

Street musicians are just adding more unwanted noise to my life (but thats because all music is, to me, just noise). Particularly in subway stations where the acoustics and competing noise are generally horrible and anything that causes people to stop moving in large groups is an annoyance.

The arrogance of the article is somewhat grating as well. Because the writer feels that classical music is the most beautiful thing. Because the performer has played to European heads of state. Because they deign to put these on display for the unwashed masses. Because of all that somehow we're obligated to stop, listen, pay, and screw up our schedules (if I'm delayed five minutes at the BART station in the morning I arrive at work almost 30 minutes later). That somehow "beauty" (whatever that word means) trumps any circumstance.

Somehow it rings of bitching because you put a billboard of a Shakespearean sonnet on an I-5 billboard and nobody pulled over to read it. "That's one of the great art forms by one of the masters of the language, you heathens!"

Move the man out somewhere where the context isn't specifically designed to keep people moving and see if he attracts a crowd. Rather than trying to interrupt these unappreciative drones when they have something that must be done, go to where they relax for lunch and see if the response is better.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

I wouldn't stop. But I also wouldn't pay $100 to watch him play in a concert hall..

I took my daughter to see Joshua Bell play. Dude worked it out. My daughter thought he was swell.

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Move the man out somewhere where the context isn't specifically designed to keep people moving and see if he attracts a crowd. Rather than trying to interrupt these unappreciative drones when they have something that must be done, go to where they relax for lunch and see if the response is better.

I agree. When I worked in downtown San Francisco, there would often be noontime performances in various outdoor eating spots. They usually gathered an appreciative audience.

[€uroMeinke]

Yeah context is everything - this article (which I admittedly didn't read) sounds like a set-up. I rarely tip street musicians, becasue when I encounter them, I'm off to do something else. On the other hand, I often will tip a band or performer I enjoy during dinner.