In most parts of the world it’s called “busking,” defined by Wikipedia as “…the practice of performing in public places for tips and gratuities.” Some people might call it “annoying.” But in every case, it’s not wrong to simply call it music. And some of these subterranean musicians are immensely talented.

Since we couldn’t hop on a plane and start traversing the globe for our search, we were limited to YouTube — which actually turned out to be quite effective. What you find below are some of the finest examples of subway music, or busking from around the world. Some are in the stations, and some are on the trains themselves. They are all quite interesting.

Moscow, Russia. These gentlemen play classical music of the highest caliber. I’m not certian, but people are commenting that this is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seoul, South Korea. This is an actual underground band, Los Andes. It’s music from the Andes, Chinchaysuyo. How cool would it be to see this on your way to work?

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Paris, France. Paris is famous for musicians playing in the stations and on the trains themselves. This is Volare.

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New York, United States. New York is truly a melting pot. This is Norteño music, from northern Mexico.

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Chicago, United States. I’m proud to have these guys in Chicago. They capture the essence of this great city. Here’s It’s Alright.

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London, England. This guy should be in a jazz hall. But then London commuters would be deprived. Here’s Sixteen Tons.

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Prague, Czech Republic. Another underground band, of sorts. Incredibly elaborate — but I wouldn’t want to be commuting hungover with this…

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Budapest, Hungary. Well known in the region, this is Club Era. Seriously this doesn’t look easy.

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Stockholm, Sweden. These gents do it the old-fashioned way — simple harmonizing and no instruments. Starts at about the 25-second mark.

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Montreal, Canada. I’ve never been there, but this guy seems entirely appropriate for Montreal.

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There are surely plenty more out there. Do you have a favorite in your city? If so, we’d love to see them. Share a link below or, better yet, get out there and record them, and then let us know. We’ll post your locals in an upcoming Sound Citizen post!

In the mean time, here are three more that we didn’t want to leave out.

Budapest, Hungary. Playing glasses.

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Tokyo, Japan. Only in Japan…

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Philadelphia, United States. A little soul in Philly. Anthony Riley has a voice, and apparently a following.

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New York, United States. Reggae in Union Square.

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We hope you enjoy this week’s installment and please send your suggestions, comments and opinions to soundcitizenmike@gmail.com. For all you bands and artists out there, if you would like to be featured on Sound Citizen radio, please send an email with a link to your music.

We’re trying to help spread good music through Chicago, and could use your help. If you like anything you hear, please take a moment to share this podcast with your friends — you can use the Facebook or ShareThis buttons below, or simply copy the URL and share it that way. Thank you!

This week’s lineup:

The Blacks (pictured), “I’m in Love”
Schubas, Saturday, March 6.
Listen to more.

J.C. Brooks & The Uptwon Sound, “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart”
The Tonic Room, Wednesday, March 10.
Listen to more.

The Lost Cartographers, “Goodbye Ohio”
Uncommon Ground, Saturday, March 13.
Listen to more.

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Supporting acts for the tour are pretty awesome, too. They are: Joe Cocker, Drive-By Truckers, ZZ Top, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and My Morning Jacket. Plenty of respect for Petty and the gang.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, March 8, at 10 AM. The presale is Wednesday, March 3 at 10 AM. We’re not sure what the presale password is yet – follow Sound Citizen on Twitter and we’ll post the password there as soon as we know.

UPDATE: A few codes we’re hearing that work so far are 542418, 412800, or 546616 and REFUGEE. For Oakland, password is guitar. For Chicago, you don’t need one, just go to Ticketmaster and pay $45 extra. We’ll keep looking.

In the mean time, you can hear a new track from the upcoming Mojo, “Good Enough,” right here.

Also, enjoy this video, a Sound Citizen favorite from one of our all-time favorite artists.

Tour dates are below.

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What do they sound like? Glad you asked. Local Natives sounds like talent. It’s definitely an interesting mix – there are keyboards, strings, an occasional trumpet and all of the singing band members have some pipes that blend flawlessly. No kidding.

The instruments are treated as an accompanyment to the overall music and vocals. It’s never overpowering but rather understated; however not unimportant. If you like Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire or Vampire Weekend, Local Natives are for you. If you don’t like those bands, you probably won’t like this either. But give it a shot. There are two videos below; the first is “Airplanes” and the second is “Sun Hands.” What I find most impressive is that these are live performances, not studio work, but it sounds like it could be. And that’s always a sign of a talented band, whether it’s your style or not. They also do a nice cover of Talking Heads’ “Warning Sign.” And really, you can’t go wrong with covering Talking Heads.

Below the videos are current tour dates, including a stop in Chicago at Schuba’s. That show WILL sell out, so if you like them, get tickets here.

You can listen to Gorilla Manor for free, right here, at the bottom of this post. You can also order a vinyl copy of Gorilla Manor.

Airplanes

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Sun Hands

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Tour

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As always, we make some recommendations about upcoming shows to look out for in the coming months. Hang tight, winter is almost over and that means the local music scene is coming alive again.

If you have any recommendations for us, comments, thoughts or opinions, please send an email to soundcitizenmike@gmail.com. And bands, if you want to be featured on Sound Citizen Radio, email an MP3 or a link where some of your music can be downloaded.

This weeks’ lineup:

Strand of Oaks, “Two Kids”
February 21, Halfway Lounge, Chicago

Young Jesus, (pictured) “God Put a Curse on Us”
Feb. 17, Matz Hall, Winnetka
March 5, Martyrs, Chicago

Grand Atlantic, “Coast is Clear”
March 9, Martyrs, Chicago

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We spent some time hanging out with Mark and Rose and they just couldn’t be nicer people. Rose was wearing a black veil over her neon-pink hair, recently purchased for her by her brother while on tour. Also, her frilled shoes which she said, “I can’t stop rocking them.”

Mark was all smiles and excited to meet a fellow Pearl Jam fan.

On stage, their every bit as freindly and simply excited to be doing what they do. For example, during an equipment malfunction, instead of complaining or apologizing, they explored the use of the word “awesome.”

“Where’d you get that hat?” asked Mark.

“Denver,” said Rose. “Denver is awesome. But not Chicago awesome.”

“Everything for you and me right now is pretty awesome,” said Mark. “That was a magnetic fuel song. They sure are great … but I wouldn’t call them awesome.”

Vandaveer is surely not widely known, but that might change real soon. They play The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia on Feb. 26, ahead of four-day stint at South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas, March 17-20. It’s really a perfect place for them to showcase their sound – what XM Cafe called “This generation’s Nick Drake” and Rolling Stone categorized as “Jarring new folk.”

Below is a video from the show at Schuba’s in November, “A Mighty Leviathan of Old.”

And read our interview with Mark Heidinger before the show, and hear more Vandaveer on their MySpace page.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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A particular favorite is the lead track from their EP, “Walked Alone.” Also, have a listen to “Something On Your Mind,” with its groovy undertones, soulful backup singers and honest lyrics:

Your love’s been fading since you opened up your door,
That’s been such a long time now.

I think something is on your mind,
But not on mine.

Vera Sousa heads up the vocals and, if you didn’t know better, you’d swear she was from an era past. The One & Nines are an easy listen that will leave you with a smile on your face and perhaps a longing for simpler times. Hosting a party any time soon? Add this to your playlist. The One & Nines will undoubtedly get people asking questions and admiring your versatile ear. As an added bonus, I suspect the ladies will dig it, even shake a leg. At least, groovy ladies.

You can hear The One & Nines EP at Lala.com, where you can also purchase it.

See The One & Nines live, at O’Hara’s in Jersey City, New Jersey on February 26.

The One & Nines on MySpace.

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It’s February, which means Valentine’s Day. And whether you’re one half of a couple or a solo artist, we have you covered with three great bands and where you can find them playing this month – even a Valentine’s Day show.

This week’s lineup:

Dawes:  Feb. 16, Double Door – “When My Time Comes”

Cobalt & The Hired Guns (pictured at right):  Feb. 19, Metro – “Of Summer”

The Dirty Rooks:  Feb. 14, Lincoln Hall – “Larry’s Blues”

Enjoy the podcast, get out there and see these shows!

As always, please email me at soundcitizenmike@gmail.com to suggest a future band for Sound Citizen Radio or, if you’re a band, send us an MP3 and let us know when you’re playing your next Chicago gig.

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Visit the website and create an account, then click “Browse Concerts >> All Performers” and you’ll find an enormous alphabetical list – click one, scroll down, and click “play.” A pop-up window will show up, listing all the tracks, length, and giving you the option to switch between songs. You can also share concerts with friends, via email.

Concerts in Wolfgang’s Vault are usually of the highest quality, so you won’t hear intrusive background noise. However, it’s the full concert experience. For example, an Allman Brothers concert on New Year’s Eve includes the countdown to midnight. Not all concerts are full-length, but there are plenty of them. The Allman Brothers have more than a dozen concerts from 1973 all the way to 1993.

This is an excellent way to get your live music fix, and the closest you’ll ever get to experiencing historic live performances from some of rock’s biggest acts. It’s impressive and a hell of a lot of fun. Oh, and did I mention you could download these concerts? Some of them are even free.

This week, Wolfgang’s Vault added a nice Muddy Waters show. Giggity.

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This week’s podcast is at the bottom of this post.

Here’s the lineup for Girls out of the Garage:

The Wanton Looks (pictured at right, 11 PM)
Leslie Hunt (10 PM)
The Maybenauts (9 PM)
Scotia Widows (8 PM)

Also this week we have a song from Kid You’ll Move Mountains, an up-and-coming Chicago band who will be featured on a new Travel Channel show called The Last Adventure. The band plays February 5, at Lincoln Hall, where The Travel Channel will be recording.

Enjoy the podcast. One correction – I mention The Black Lips are playing March 1. It’s actually April 1.

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