[Rick Lee]

They should have gotten Vanessa Mae to do it.

As someone who has spent thousands of rush hour commutes on the DC Metro, most of which involved Metro Center, the biggest stop, I can say most folks ain't on that cesspool of mass transit because they want to take their time and check out the local music scene. Rush hour in DC consists of people trying to and from work. Since most of the street musicians play at the top or bottom of the giant escalators, it's not exactly a great place for spectators to gather while the rats are racing to get around them. Oh, did I mention the vast, vast majority of street muscians in DC absolutely SUCK? Sometimes I've wanted to pay people to stop playing or so they could afford some more lessons. Seriously, they SUCK. I saw one guy in Alexandira once who was playing Stanley Jordan songs on his guitar and that blew me away, not just because of how hard it was, but because he was the first decent street musician I had seen in DC. There's also the Korean Moonie nut who gets on the trains and sings hymns. Of course, he doesn't start until the doors close, so he has a totally captive audience. After a few years of putting up with all the nuts there, it really would take a total star to get me to pay attention. Commuting on the DC Metro is why the iPod was invented.