Music in the metro (the good, the bad and the ugly)

I use the Paris railway system (metro, RER, SNCF) nearly everyday and think that it is absolutely fabulous despite any delays or cancellations. And I do think that the railway system does make efforts to make public transportation a pleasant experience. For example, there is almost always music on the Paris railways and in the stations. Music in the metros is probably on my list of the top 10 things I love about Parisian life. And...it's also on my list of the 10 things I hate about Parisian life. I tend to classify metro music into one of three categories.

The first category is comprised of the professional musicians. To play in the Parisian metros, you need to audition for the job and you are given a sort of license to play there. Different stations have different musicians. Just the other day, I was in the Palais Royal station where a man was playing lovely music on his violin. It was so calming and so fitting for a station that leads into the Louvre. In another station, I've heard the most amazing accordion player. Yes, you read that right. I'm usually not a huge fan, but this guy can play all the parts of Vivaldi's "Winter" on his accordion. It is just incredible.

In the second category are the guys who are not licensed to play in the metro, but who are trying to earn some cash with a little entertainment. This can be hit or miss, but usually these guys aren't too bad! A few days ago, I was in a very crowded RER train and a guy shouted out that he was going to sing a little tune for everyone's enjoyment. As it turned out, he couldn't sing at all which he admitted afterward. He then said that he really just wanted a little extra money and that he was sad because it was Christmas time and he had no girlfriend. The whole thing turned into this great little comedy routine. Everyone was laughing. Excellent. Unfortunately, I couldn't see who he was and so couldn't hand him over the change from my pocket.

The last category is the only one that I really just cannot stand. It has apparently become a trend for people to "share" their music with everyone on the train. This means that they open the music they've loaded onto their cell phones and turn the volume all the way up. They seem to have this idea that they're doing everyone an incredible favor by playing tinny-sounding hip hop through their crappy little phone speakers. Why why why? I thought it was part of this need to be the center of attention--like they're on a reality show. Gaby's theory is that they can better pretend they're in a music video if they're playing their music out loud and everyone's glaring at them. I think he's onto something.

How to deal? For category 1, no problem. I love it. For category 2, I have my mp3 player and earphones ready just in case the entertainment's not so entertaining. And for category 3? Well, I've started carrying around a hammer so I can ... ... I mean, I'll just turn up my own music and hope it drowns out theirs. SIGH.