The time I visited Paris a few years ago, there were Gypsy musicians busking on the Metro. They were very disciplined and professional in their manner and performance--which I thought reduced the charm of this kind of music.

On the other hand, the much less skilled musicians busking outside the health-food stores (good place to find rich people) in Santa Fe don't do much for me either. For one thing, a lot of them are very emotionally intense, and I can only take that if it goes with a lot of talent. For another, one of them goes barefoot, and in cold weather I just can't look at him. (If he wants to get pity for his real or fake poverty he should wrap his feet in newspapers and rags.) This is a tip for all you buskers out there.

Some of you Irish and Hibernophilic (?) folks might like Ray Bradbury's book Green Shadows, White Whale, about his stay in Ireland working on the script for John Huston's Moby Dick. One of the episodes is about a woman playing the harp on a street in Dublin.