Busk Break is an ongoing field recording series documenting live performances by busking musicians and other street performers.
Aaron Basskin covers “If I Only Had a Brain”
Busker Aaron Baskin performing in Asheville.Local busker Aaron Basskin performs his version of a song almost everyone in the English-speaking world can at least hum along to: “If I Only Had a Brain” by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, written for the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz.
At first Basskin was a little reluctant to perform this tune, as he’s only played it a few moments earlier. But that’s one of the great things about mid-day busking, as crowds rarely linger for more than a song or two, so there’s no harm in playing your favorite tune a few times. And what’s not to like about this classic, sing-alongable tune?
Steve Shanafelt used to think he was a writer. Lots of other people thought he was a very good one, and they paid him to write everything from news articles to erotic comic books. Then, a few years ago, he started to realize that writing was just one very tiny piece of the puzzle. He started recording podcasts, producing field recordings of busking musicians, making short video series and learning how to make websites. Along the way, he learned lots of ways not to manage businesses and how to promote those businesses online. Now, people pay him surprisingly large sums of money to show them some of the things he's picked up.
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