When you’re on the subway as much as I am, you see (and hear) a lot of “musicians.” To be fair, some people can actually play well; there’s a blind man who travels on the subway with his violin and he’s amazing. Then there are the people who continually fumble through one song over and over. (I.e. the guy in the 7 line corridor who only plays “When the Saints go Marching In.”)

What drives me nuts, though, is when you’re walking through a corridor (like the one to the 7 train or the one in Times Square) and you pass four different people playing four different instruments AND four different songs in only a 20 foot span.  AH! It makes me cringe and wish my ipod volume could turn up higher.

So, I’ve come up with a fantastic solution. It’s called “Making the Subway Band: Season One.” We gather up a bunch of subway musicians and discover their real talent. And, in the true American form, we turn it into a reality show! Every week a subway musician gets kicked off, but in the end there’s enough people left for a band! The band gets signed, their lives change, blah blah. The only caveat is the people who get kicked off have to sign a waver that says they will never return to the subway to play songs such as “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

A little harsh you say? Then perhaps your ears have never been privy to this daily experience that is mine.

mta, music, rants | 2 Comments »

While I was running errands over the weekend, I came across a crowd in the Time Square subway station. That’s not unusual, but being ever nosey, I wiggled my way in to see what all the fuss was about. As soon as I saw what everyone was looking at I thought, oooh pretty new statue.

Then I noticed the bucket of money in front of it and realized, holy shit, she’s a real person. With her white wig and white face makeup she really looked the part of a ballerina statue. She was amazing; even when I stared really hard at her, the only movement I could barely detect was her breathing. After a few minutes she moved gracefully into another dance position and returned to her statuesque state.

mta, random, why i love new york city | 2 Comments »

Holy ticket prices. Yankee and Mets tickets are seeing a record hike this 2008 season according to the Post. The increases are supposedly due to the fact that it’s both teams last season in their stadiums, as well as to lessen sticker shock for prices next season at the new stadiums. These aren’t minute $5 hikes either; season ticket holders are taking the biggest hit with prices rising 100%.Here’s a breakdown:

Yankees: For season ticket holders, seats behind home plate are now $250, a 100% jump. For others, the same tickets are now $400, an 18% hike. Seats on either side of home plate, one tier up, are now $120, a 40% hike for season ticket holders. For everyone else, they’re now $95, a 29% jump.

Mets: For season ticket holders, seats along the baselines are now $52.81, a 20% increase. For non-season ticket holders, seats behind home plate, one tier up, are now $117, a 42% jump.

My best friend (a die-hard Yankee fan) and I only made it to a few games last season; I told her we had to make it to at least 10 this year. That was before I read this article. I’m not sure my purse can afford the Yankees now.

Apparently this isn’t just a New York thing, either. According to the article, when the Phils played their last season at Veterans Stadium, lower-deck seats jumped from $28 to $40. (Clearly not the same inane prices here, though.)

Looks like I’ll be watching most of the games from my couch this season. Oh crap, I just remembered I only like baseball when I’m actually at the game. Oh well.

How long until football season?

news, sports | No Comments »