Tuesday, April 10, 2007
stop, look, and listen

Imagine for a second, that you catch the Skytrain to work everyday. Imagine also, that you always get off the train at Granville Station. Now imagine that one day, with no warning or fanfare, one of the world's greatest violinists is stationed with his case out for donations right at the bottom of the stairs (imagine also, that the SkyCops let this happen). He's opening with one of the most difficult pieces ever composed for his instrument, and delivering it rather flawlessly. And as all that beautiful music echoes around the station, here's the million dollar question...

Would you stop to listen? Or, would you even notice?

My friend Tyler sent me this great article from the Washington Post Magazine, and I had to share it.

now playing: Andrew Bird - Yawny at the Apocalypse

5 Comments:

That was a great read! Thanks for the heads-up, Quinn.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:16 p.m.  

Thanks so much for the link to the article. It was really interesting and now I know who Joshua Bell is!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:59 p.m.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you for that. I've yet to get through the whole article yet but what I read(plus the videos I watched) was fascinating. I pass by street musicians as much as the next person but mostly because I don't necessarily have the time to stop or they suck. However, next time a street musician piques my interest I'll definitely consider giving them a few minutes of my time(plus of course a generous donation).

The article reminds me of the music video that Badly Drawn Boy did for "All Possibilities" where he is filmed busking but hardly anyone notices him:

http://www.cissme.com/bgroup/rm/xl/badly/video/tnxl017cd-01_rvs.ram

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:53 p.m.  

This article, while an interesting idea, is pretty trivial at best. It gives little if no consideration to the time constraints or pressures urban commuters have and instead focuses on their failure to recognize supposed beauty while late for work etc...

While Joshua Bell is an interesting person and obviously a great musician, the long winded discussion about 'what is beauty' and Liebnitz was not well thought out.

Why should we expect anybody to stop?

By Blogger Unknown, at 2:52 p.m.  

I once read about a similar experiment in which people applying for positions in a pastoral training program were told to walk to another building nearby to give a presentation. On the way, an actor portraying a person in distress tried to stop them.

When the applicants were told that there was no hurry to reach the other building, many of them stopped. When they were told that they must hurry and were already late, none did.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:04 p.m.  

Post a Comment

contests

music

upcoming shows
2/8 Twin Sister, Eleanor Friedberger, and Ava Luna @ the Media Club
2/9 David Choi @ the Rio
2/10 Secret Chiefs 3 and Dengue Fever @ the Rickshaw
2/13 White Buffalo @ the Media Club
2/14 The Ballyntines and Pleasure Cruise (TT) @ the Biltmore
2/18 Grimes w/Born Gold @ Fortune (early)
2/18 Cruel Young Heart, Young Liars, the Oh Wells, and Matiation @ the Dodson Rooms (AA)
2/18 Cursive w/UME @the Media Club
2/19 The Asteroids Galaxy Tour w/Vacationer @ Venue
2/20 Veronica Falls w/Bleached @ the Media Club
2/26 DJ Krush @ Fortune
2/29 Trevor Hall @ the Media Club
3/6 Slow Club w/Signals @ the Media Club
3/7 Cloud Nothings w/Mr. Dream @ the Media Clubr
3/8 Islands @ the Rio
3/10 Memoryhouse @ the Waldorf
3/17 William Fitzsimmons @ the Biltmore (early)
3/18 Magnetic Fields @ the Vogue (AA)
3/21 Plants & Animals>/b> @ the Rickshaw
3/22 Drive-by Truckers @ the Commodore
3/23 White Rabbits @ the Biltmore
3/23 Loney Dear @ the Media Club
3/24 Sharon Van Etten and the War on Drugs @ the Biltmore (early)
3/25 Nada Surf and An Horse @ the Rickshaw
3/27 The Ting Tings @ the Commodore
4/5 House de Racket @ the Electric Owl
4/6 Chairlift w/Nite Jewel @ the Electric Owl
4/7 Heartless Bastards @ the Media Club
4/8 Metronomy @ Venue
4/8 Gotye @ the Vogue (AA)
4/9 Cults @ Venue
4/10 First Aid Kit @ Venue
4/10 Andrew Bird w/Laura Marling @ the Vogue (AA)
4/13 The Odds and the Grapes of Wrath @ the Rickshaw
4/14 The Joel Plaskett Emergency @ the Vogue (AA)
4/24 School of Seven Bells w/Exitmusic @ the Electric Owl
4/26 Justice @ the PNE Forum (AA)
4/27 M83 @ the Vogue (AA)
4/27 Yukon Blonde @ the Commodore
4/28 Neon Indian @ Venue (early)
5/6 Delta Spirit w/Waters @ the Electric Owl
5/9 Yann Tiersen @ the Rickshaw
5/11 Great Lake Swimmers w/Cold Specks @ the Commodore
5/12 The Boxer Rebellion> @ the Biltmore
5/27 Coeur de Pirate @ Venue

legend:
AA = all ages
DG = @damaged goods
DFTK = @dirty for the kids
FJW = @fake jazz wed
EN = @easy now
GD = @glory days
HL = @higher learning JH = @junior high
JY= @junkyard
RRPP = @rocknroll pizza party
SD = @shindig
TT = @toonie tuesday
NW = @no worries

more shows
shindig
the biltmore
fortune
pat's
the railway
the red room
venue

club action
culture club
damaged goods
east van soul club
glory days
ice cream social
no more strangers
re-up
wild zero

local favourites

mostly music
a day in the life of...
a reminder
chipped hip
deftone
duncan's donuts
expressway to my skull
goodnight neverland
guttersnipe
hero hill
the indie files
my indie world
radio zero
the skinny
vanmega
weird pop vancouver
winnie cooper

consume
dandelion
red cat
scratch
zulu

formed a band
the abramson singers
basketball
bison
black mountain
brasstronaut
the clips
destroyer
fine mist
jpndrds
koban
ladyhawk
mt-40
no gold
nu sensae
twin crystals
white lung

dj kicks
betti forde
cam dales
dg djs
expendable youth
john cougar
my!gay!husband!
paul devro

everything else
beyond robson
chez nous presents
citr
cjsf
ion
linds & nicola
only
ryan walter wagner
safe amplification site society
scout
swak
the straight
timbre
twee death
urban diner
vancouver is awesome
vanity presents

everywhere else

blogs
b(oot)log
brooklyn vegan
catbirdseat
catchdubs
chromewaves
cliptip
copy, right
discobelle
feed your habit
fluokids
fluxblog
for the 'records'
good weather for airstrikes
gorilla vs. bear
i am fuel, you are friends
i (heart) music
largehearted boy
macleans
mad decent
marathonpacks
mcnutt against the music
more cowbell
music (for robots)
my old kentucky blog
the outernet
palms out sounds
pop (all love)
popsheep
rock, paper, pixels
ryspace
said the gramophone
soul sides
stereogum
songs: illinois
swedesplease
ttiktda
weird canada

you ain't no picasso
zoilus

sites
buddyhead
cbc radio 3
coke machine glow
daytrotter
glorious noise
pitchfork
schedule two
stylus
tiny mixtapes

scribbles
chart
color
discorder
exclaim!

interact
email
last.fm
twitter

history

on repeat
i'll make you a tape
one song
promo pile

previous posts
party hard
backstage with modern dancers
tastes like gold
boys of summer
so trill
quel est le boeuf?
where you'll find me now
us kids know
another excuse
buzzkill

archives

mp3s are for preview purposes, if you like what you hear, buy it at your favourite indie record store. please don't direct link to photos. click for more.

writing by Quinn
unless noted

orig. design by gerald`


Powered by Blogger

Firefox 2