Why Buskers Give Me Hope
What the heck is busking?
Both Busker, the noun, and busking, the verb, have been around since 1850s England. But until recently, I had no idea what either was.
Now I admire buskers, especially the street musicians. They give me hope.
I write better with background music. So, I open YouTube, search “best busking performances,” select one that looks promising, then let the algorithm do its thing.
I’m probably an outlier for admitting it, but I really don’t care that AI knows more about my tastes than any human does. I figure AI is inevitable, so I embrace its benefits.
One is, without it, I probably wouldn’t have discovered busker David Hayden.
Busker David Hayden Performing
Busking’s Impact on Creators
I’m about as far from being a music expert as I am from playing on the PGA tour. But I know what I like, and I like David Hayden—along with a lot of other talented, but mostly unknown buskers like Allie Sherlock, Andrew Duncan, Atticus Blue, and the performers busker Luke Silva invites to sing with him.
I enjoy listening to them, but I’m also comforted by them. Comforted to know that you can be good but undiscovered. The best buskers prove that you can be world-class without being world-famous. Have you ever heard a cover that you liked more than the original?
I have. More than once.
Lessons from The Voice
NBC’s The Voice taught me that even though most big celebrities are great at what they do, there are lots of undiscovered, talented people who are at least as great. Singer after singer appeared on stage often singing as well and sometimes even better than the celebrity judges.
And how about all those whose essential work will never go viral? Nurses, handymen (and women), plumbers, mechanics, physical therapists, custodians…
I’ve accepted that I’ll never be a celebrity writer. How many are there? Can you name 10? I’ll certainly never be a celebrity teacher. How many are there? Can you name any?
Sure, I wish I had more readers. I wish I could reach more students. But buskers have taught me that there’s not necessarily a relationship between celebrity and skill, followers and competence.
Buskers give me hope that I can be good at what I do, even if nobody notices.
We all can.
Or is that just me rationalizing, conveniently consoling and comforting myself?
