Sewing a silk purse to a pigs head.

[Peter Voice]

Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell took his $3-4 million dollar Stradivari out to busk in the Washington subways the other day.
In a couple of hours, he made $32.12 and $20 of it came in one hat drop.

[joel]

Just came across this article about it, in the Washington Post, if anyone is interested.

It's well worth a read.

[Peter Voice]

What a beautiful essay.

Like the passers-by in the subway, I wonder how many people here will stop and take the time to read it.

[Butterfly Man]

Hey bud, beat it ... that's MY spot!

"Koyaanisqatsi"


...that explains a lot.

[Frisbee]

Reuters had picked up the story and also offered video, I think it was listed under news of the Weird.

[thatjugglingfool]

I’m ashamed to admit that I would likely have been one who dropped a few bucks as I rushed by. I think my priorities in life may be altered by this article. I’m afraid of how much have I missed over the years.

[scot]

It's great to see him feel the exact same way we've all felt. "What happened, have I lost my ability completely? Is this not valid to the world?"

It's strange to see the people thinking that he's going to be a great success in the subway.

[Butterfly Man]

respect your elders ...

My friend from NOLA just sent me this after reading the article:


"I have know the feeling of drawing an intently listening crowd but also that of being completely ignored. One has to have pretty thick skin not to take it too personally, for sure.
When I was a kid, and Mama had us all in church, she'd give us each a few coins to put in the basket when it came around. In the Metro in Paris, I saw parents stopping to give their children coins to put in my guitar case. Once in a while, someone smiling would pass and put a 50 or 100 franc note in the case.They're a very generous people, the French.
One particular incident has always stuck in my mind though. A dignified-looking elderly gentleman, who sounded (from his accent) German or eastern European, once stopped to yell at me that what I was playing was NOT music, and I should just STOP it.
It hurt my feelings, and made me feel very embarrassed because, at that point, I was playing and singing mechanically, the same songs every night, and usually the best-paying five or six songs in an endless loop.
I had been doing the Metro for 0ver 10 years and it had become a job. There was no feeling in it any more.
I don't know whether that is what the older man was talking about, or if he just considered that popular folk and soft rock songs are not really "music". I guess I'll never know. In any event, I took it kind of hard, because I have a great deal of respect for dignified elderly people, and usually like them instinctively. I stopped playing in the Metro soon after that incident."

[jugglery]

Joni Mitchell

Life imitating art.

This reminds me of the song "Free" by Joni Mitchell. A clarinetist is playing on the street corner and Joni seems to be the only one who recognizes his talent.

"He never played on their TVs, so they passed his good music by"

Tonight, one of those tabloid shows (Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, or something) put a former American Idol contestant in a shopping mall and taped the reactions of passers by.

See, don't steal! You end up with American Idol rejects instead of Joshua Bell.

Steve

[Butterfly Man]

footloose and fretless

Joni Mitchell had one of the most amazing vocal ranges imaginable ... she was one of the first to recognize the musical abilities of Jaco Pastorius. In a way, she took him off the streets.

I met Jaco in Ft. Lauderdale at a jazz club when I was about 16 ... he was a drummer and wanted to learn how to juggle ... I was a juggler who wanted to learn the drums.

Jaco picked up the bass guitar and became a musical legend ... I started performing and became a family embarrassment.

He died ... I'm alive ... and still, nobody's watching.