You never know who might be busking.....

[Salukulady]

"Busking" ? !!

yep (I had to google it)

Can I please point out to the few people who referred to him posing as a bum, busking is not something a bum does especially, IT IS SOMETHING A MUSICIAN DOES. I have done it, love to do it, and take the time to stop and listen for a moment when others are doing it and tip when I appreciate the music, no matter what the appearance of the musician is.

[flyboy55]

I stop to watch the sunrise or sunsets every once in while..when I was on my saling adventure in The Exumas- I made it a point to see every sunrise and sunset. I laugh when I see little children playing.....I gou outside and look at the stars. I make it a point to view the full moon or meteor showers.....I think I probably would have stopped to hear him play his music as well....life's too short to miss these things.

Yeah . . . life is too short. The finish line of the rat race is a box in the ground. No thanks.

I do frequently stop to listen to musicians in the street and even throw in some coin. I think Joni Mitchell's song "Real Good For Free" beautifully portrays the contrast between fame and anonymity and points out how context frequently determines how much attention we pay to the fine things around us.

If an artist is playing on the stage of a large concert hall and we've paid $200 for a ticket we pay attention and maybe even appreciate what we're listening to - because in that context we know that's what we're supposed to do.

I've heard a lot of fine musicians who, for whatever reason, never signed a recording contract or took their act on the road or aspired to fame and fortune. I hope I don't need to see a price tag attached to appreciate the worth of artistic endeavor.

Of course, maybe there just weren't any classical music lovers in the subway that day.

[pbans]

I wonder what he did with the $32.00

MD 20/20

[ragtopW]

On the other hand how many people can afford to pay $200 a ticket to see a musician? Or can afford a $3.5 million dollar instrument?
Nevermind all these "feely" questions in the article, how about the financial questions they don't bother to ask!
Cheers
Wiscoleeds

I would not pay that much.. unless there were a streel drum player and a tall Redhead in the band..

[ragtopW]

Not to mention the lack of music and arts education in schools so that people could readily identify the artist and the music.

more sad.. the fact that there are people (IMHO a lot) that are as good as him
or Better at his own trade.. and they are washing dishes and playing music
nights in a smoky bar room..

there are thousands of artists,chefs,singers,ball players... Talented people in their own right
in this country alone.. who cannot make a living doing what they love..
many of them were (or are told) that their is no future in what they love..
so they go get a "real" job and suffer in silence...

that to me is very sad.