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How do you get back at 'buskers' who assault your ears on the subway? - Page 2

post #16 of 24
9/1/08 at 2:55am
Thread Starter 
That's what they are 'officially' called in my city: buskers.

I guess I should be clear that I don't mind truly talented people who perform in public. Ie: I've always heard New Orleans has some very talented musicians who perform in public, they wouldn't bother me.

But in my city, 99% of the busker 'performers' have no talent whatsoever and are an affront to the ears & eyes. They just let anyone busk in the subways. It's scary that the ones they did choose had to 'win' the right to perform in the subways for the next year at the annual 'buskerfest'. With the 'winners' being able to offer nothing other than noise pollution, I wonder what the 'losers' were like.
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post #17 of 24
9/1/08 at 11:08am
Laws of supply and demand suggest that untalented buskers should not be given any money and will eventually leave to pursue better paying opportunities like being pickpockets and holding up liquor stores. The compaint strating this thread is really about aggressive and untalented buskers. You don;t have to talk to them or give them anything and are perfectly free to watch whatever performances you wish. It isn't an easy way to make a buck...but local police are usually happy to bust in on aggressive buskers who hassle the civilians. I guess it depends on how aggressive they are being.
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post #18 of 24
9/2/08 at 1:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Augusto86 View Post
Props to ya. I have experienced some amazin performers - in Boston, there's a guy who uses an acoustic/electric and a loop pedal to play classical pieces in canon with himself, a concert-level cellist who also does classic rock standards, a breakdancer who busts headspins and backflips on moving trains, and a violin/viola/cello trio who play lovely chamber music. There are some mediocre and one or two awful people, but they just provide conversation.

People want to dumb down cities and make 'em into Disneyland, and that makes me sad...

I disagree as usual.

Then there's this idiot who think's he's Santana in the Newbury/Public Garden area, that Francophone dipshit who routinely noise-pullutes Harvard Stn., and the assorted retards that make Park St generally unusable. This is not to mention the worst of them all, the tenor sax hack who reads ballads from the Real Book note for fucking note, does not swing or improvise at all, and generally plays jazz tunes like novice 14 yr old suburban white kid. For those wishing to avoid this fellow, he can be found at the Mass ave end of Boylston/Newbury and Government Center.

Occasionally there are some good singer/songwriter types around Harvard, but this is the exception to the rule. I find the non-musical acts the best, for example the whip-boy who holds things in his mouth and cuts them with his whip in front of that new coffee bar in the western part of Harvard Sq.
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post #19 of 24
9/2/08 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RunningBeagle View Post
I disagree as usual.

Then there's this idiot who think's he's Santana in the Newbury/Public Garden area, that Francophone dipshit who routinely noise-pullutes Harvard Stn., and the assorted retards that make Park St generally unusable. This is not to mention the worst of them all, the tenor sax hack who reads ballads from the Real Book note for fucking note, does not swing or improvise at all, and generally plays jazz tunes like novice 14 yr old suburban white kid. For those wishing to avoid this fellow, he can be found at the Mass ave end of Boylston/Newbury and Government Center.

Occasionally there are some good singer/songwriter types around Harvard, but this is the exception to the rule. I find the non-musical acts the best, for example the whip-boy who holds things in his mouth and cuts them with his whip in front of that new coffee bar in the western part of Harvard Sq.

Weird, I'm unaware of all except maybe the 'Francophone' - older black gent, I think he's singing Creole, in the lower part of the train platform at Harvard?

Park St. isn't great, but it's also wicked loud and you're never there for that long.

The only dude I REALLY hate is the little Chinese(?) man who's about 115 and plays that little Chinese fiddle with one string that sounds like someone gutting a cat over and over again. It bugs me 'cause I know it's a beautiful instrument(they used it in Crouching Tiger), but this man just mauls it.

I also like the Peruvian/gypsy band Gitano - I bought one of their CD's back in high school, although they've changed lineups a few times.
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post #20 of 24
9/2/08 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LabelKing View Post
I don't like that word--buskers.

I don't like it, either. I'd hate to be called that or even to refer to others as it. I suppose what "buskers" do is called "busking?" Yuck...
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post #21 of 24
9/2/08 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LabelKing View Post
I don't like that word--buskers.

I prefer to refer to myself as a street performer. I agree that "busking" has an unappealing sound.
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post #22 of 24
9/2/08 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Augusto86 View Post
Weird, I'm unaware of all except maybe the 'Francophone' - older black gent, I think he's singing Creole, in the lower part of the train platform at Harvard?

Park St. isn't great, but it's also wicked loud and you're never there for that long.

The only dude I REALLY hate is the little Chinese(?) man who's about 115 and plays that little Chinese fiddle with one string that sounds like someone gutting a cat over and over again. It bugs me 'cause I know it's a beautiful instrument(they used it in Crouching Tiger), but this man just mauls it.

I also like the Peruvian/gypsy band Gitano - I bought one of their CD's back in high school, although they've changed lineups a few times.

Yeah that's the guy. And +1 on the Chinese fiddle. That guy is utterly unbelievable. I've seen them played elsewhere quite well for example in Central Park.
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post #23 of 24
9/2/08 at 4:05pm
I much prefer the buskers to the loopy proselytizers, who actually delight in annoying a train full of passengers at 8:30 in the morning on the express from 125th to 59th.

In NY, the doo-wop guys can be fun. There's an older, infirm, really skinny guy who is (or at least appears to be) blind who sings in high pitch voice. I've heard him, more than once, do a medley of some innocuous standard mixed with "If you think I'm sexy."

But nothing can top the little breakdancers doing all kinds of crazy moves. Flips off the ceiling are pretty standard, but the absolute most ridiculous thing I've seen was when two guys used a third as a human jump rope for a fourth who did something like "the worm" but with a jump. Unreal.
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post #24 of 24
9/2/08 at 4:16pm
I don't get the hostility toward the OP. I'm with him completely; this shit is intrusive and should not be on the subway. The streets are another story entirely.
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