A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, THE LAST TIME I TIPPED SOMEONE WAS FOR RICHARD THOMPSON'S 'THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF LONDON TOWN': A guest commentary from Paul Tabachneck, a/k/a "Carmichael Harold":

In the Billy Joel debate raging below this entry, I piped up just enough to note that when I play "Only The Good Die Young" in the subways and at tip-driven performances, the money that folds tends to land in my jar/case. The Pathetic Earthling asked me to elaborate on what the top tip-garnering songs are, so here's my take on busking in New York.

I'm a singer-songwriter trying to make something of my career out here -- because of that, I work a little bit differently than other buskers. The basic goal for me is to resonate with people a little deeper than the average busker, to communicate to them that I'm not just doing this because I'm down on my luck (because I'm not), I want to entertain and to continue entertaining them after they catch their train. I also want them to take my card or flyer, come out to my show, buy my CD off iTunes. I have some taboos:

"Brown-Eyed Girl" is a NO-NO. Also, "Here Comes The Sun." Also, any of the first 10 songs you think of when you think of Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen. I'm not knocking any of these songs -- in fact, I like all of these songs (although it was only a few years ago that my friend Robin Hitchcock -- not the famous one, but she's going to rule the world someday -- converted me to liking Springsteen), but every dude who learned a few chords to get laid in college plays these songs without much effort, so you tend to hear them a lot in these situations. People are a lot less likely to tip for "All Along The Watchtower," because it's white effing noise to them. The key is to get further under the skin.

If you're a Van Morrison fan, you grow a love-hate relationship with "BEG." It's so commonly known that it outshines a lot of his other work, and that is just not fair. "Crazy Love," however, lies just under the surface. It's juuuust under-appreciated enough that you never hear it. By that same token, I do Tracy Chapman's "Baby Can I Hold You" -- again, not her biggest hit, but from the first two notes of the melody -- people's heads always turn at the first "sorry," and their hands are in their purses by the end of the first chorus. "Ask," by the Smiths, is a song no one knows the name of but EVERYBODY that listens to them loves that song. Plus, it flirts with literally every person in the room. "Alison" will get you tips, but "Riot Act" or "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" will get you FANS, and those people will not only pay, they'll take a card and a flyer.

As a child of the 80s but a teen of the 90s, I find that a nice sampling of under-the-radar stuff from the '90s helps grease the wheels as well. By example: Freedy Johnston's "Bad Reputation." It wasn't huge, but you know that song when you hear it.

Generally, songs from the 80's are unexpected in the context of solo acoustic performers. It's unjust, because there are a lot of amazing songs from that time, hidden under thick layers of automation and production. "Missing You," by John Waite, has been covered a lot (David Wilcox, Alison Krauss, Tina Turner off the top of my head), but always sounds fresh because of its unique structure. "I Think We're Alone Now" (I know, but ask a kid from the 80s who Tommy James is) and the theme from "Fame" -- I slow both of those down to ballads and comPLETEly change the tone and experience, and people get thrown by it. Playing on their expectations by throwing out an earnest cover of "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles never fails -- because, as my friend Jacob Clifton (of TWoP fame, for those keeping track) put it, "girls want to swoon and boys want to cry." Also, because I'm a big burly bald dude with a goatee, the sudden jolt of non-threatening sweetness goes a long way to making the more timid people feel safe approaching my guitar case.

That's a big part, too -- playing with expectations. I have a version of "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service that is poppy and folky at the same time, and never fails to win big.

The most commonly known songs that I play are "All My Loving" by the Beatles, and "Only The Good Die Young" by Billy Joel. I do these when I feel the room slipping away, when my instincts have failed me. There isn't a person alive who doesn't like one of those two songs. They're both ridiculously well-known and well-liked songs, that fall by the wayside because of all of the other hits by those artists. I don't even think "All My Loving" made the 1's compilation, but every woman loves that song, and every man wants you to know that he can sing the harmony.

Plus, I have originals. If you sing a song about having a crush or falling in love, you'll resonate. If you sing a song about hating your job, that works, too. If you sing a sad song, you really have to know that you're playing to that room that Jacob referred to. It's all instinct.

In summary:

There's no top ten list. Sure, the first paragraph of taboos is probably the most commonly played stuff in the subways -- that doesn't mean it works, that just means it's what people are most capable of playing. In my experience, though, the more thought and originality you put into your choices, the more dollars you get -- really, it's kind of like strategizing for "American Idol" that way: Simon's constant piece of advice, other than the not-really-constructive "sing better," is that you have to be remembered after everything else that happens on any given night.

Hopefully, you'll remember this, and come catch me and my new backing band, the Awkward Situation, at the National Underground on Houston and Allen, Saturday nights from 7 to 9 -- or come check me out at myspace.com/paultab