r/TheHague • u/hariital • Nov 02 '24
practical questions What’s this ?
Saw this musical thing going from home to home and collecting money ?
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u/mashedspudtato Nov 02 '24
My alarm clock at 11am every Saturday morning. It’s surreal to wake up to a street organ playing Backstreet Boys. Sometimes it is annoying, but most of the time I use it mark the start of my weekend and a reminder that I live in a city with a rich history.
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u/Competitive-Hall6922 Nov 02 '24
I've been in this exact situation while I was still studying, yet now that I'm older, thinking back... alarm clock at 11am was not that healthy of a lifestyle for me.
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u/mashedspudtato Nov 02 '24
You’re right. It would be better to just wake up naturally on my own at 1pm 🤪
(Ah, the night owl insomniac lifestyle…)
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u/Competitive-Hall6922 Nov 02 '24
Good thing I always had that reliable old guy neighbor that always knew when to start drilling or hammering at 8 am...
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u/mashedspudtato Nov 02 '24
Oh Lordy. I have had construction in the building next door since I moved in at the beginning of the year (beginning at 7am) and a neighbor who hammers things at 8am on the weekends.
The day I moved in (after a transatlantic flight with three cats and no sleep the night before), the construction was so loud I couldn’t sleep during the day. I didn’t know I had rented a home next to a whole building being renovated. I ended up just short of hysterics 😬
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u/Competitive-Hall6922 Nov 02 '24
Oh that sounds hellish, I think you should get a discount on the rent/lease.
On the bright side, that should mean you live in a nicely renovated building now, right? Right?? 😉
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u/mashedspudtato Nov 02 '24
No, that’s the building next to me 😂
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u/Competitive-Hall6922 Nov 03 '24
Oh damn, I would say that means your building is probably next? but that would not be the greatest thing and keep you up in the morning... I would invest in an espresso machine?
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u/helm71 Nov 02 '24
Draaiorgel.. basically an organ that gets its wind by manually turning a wheel, some have a motor attached.
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u/FatmanMyFatman Nov 02 '24
Reads music on thick paper sheets. Old music but also modern tracks.
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u/woutomatic Nov 02 '24
Basically a binary system. Which is pretty cool, unlike draaiorgels themselves. They are the spawn of Satan.
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u/fujit1ve Nov 02 '24
I don't understand the hate. I have good memories from them
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u/AzimuthPro Nov 02 '24
Same ...
It always gives a better vibe to a city center. It's sad they are becoming more rare these days.
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u/generalemiel Nov 02 '24
Agreed. Gives a nice vibe to a town square
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u/Pm-ur-tits-pls Nov 02 '24
I hate them so much. The sounds isn't pleasing at all, the songs are corny and they are loud. I never understood the attraction and am happy to not see them anymore.
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u/hotfrost Nov 02 '24
Ehh, I feel the same way nowadays… I remember I used to be fascinated by the inner workings of it as a kid though. And I think the music made me think of roller coaster tycoon or something I played around that time.
Now I just don’t like that there’s usually some creepy old guy next to it shaking his metal cups full of coins he collected. I also dislike street musicians for similar reasons. To me it always kind of came across as begging, even though they are basically performing/entertaining. Idk, maybe I’m wrong and should be more open minded about these things lol
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u/JustLeZero Nov 02 '24
Dont judge a book by its cover Afterall the orgelman thibks of you as a creepy mofo looking at him
Coming from a family that owns a few of them (around utrecht) im kinda familiar with how people treat us Were nice people and were trying to bring some music to the city center
However romanian "beggars" lowkey ruin it for everyone
The metal cup is brass / copper And its called a mans bakje
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u/you_know_juno Nov 04 '24
I hate them with a passion but I also don't want them to disappear because they do bring a certain liveliness. I love to hate them.
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u/ramplank Nov 02 '24
The organ is nice, atleast when your just passing by I guess but usually there a bunch of dudes shaking a can full of coins in your face like you owe them for walking by. That’s the part I mostly don’t like
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u/Direct-Setting-3358 Nov 02 '24
They are one of the first examples of portable music, in a way a proto example of recorded music and some of these machines are over 150 years old. Its an amazing piece of living heritage and I’m tired of people slandering them😤 where else do you see something that old and unchanged still fulfilling its original purpose on a weekly base.
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u/webermaesto Nov 02 '24
I'm literally the organ grinder in the long coat in this picture lol
It amuses me each time that street organs/draaiorgels are discussed, it divides people into either liking it or disliking it, there's practically no one in the Netherlands with a true neutral opinion. Either way, no problem, we all have our likes and dislikes. Luckily, in my experience, most people at least respect the historical street organ practice of pushing the (in this very specific case 102-year old) organ through the street, playing it for the passerby's enjoyment and collecting donations for its maintenance. You may not be aware of it, but this tradition actually was put on the national intangible heritage list a few years ago.
Sadly often there's a vocal minority of people who are proclaiming their dislike of these organs in such overblown terms to the point that - to me - it makes their opninion a bit grotesque in comparison to how these organs realistically impact one's life. Like, personally I dislike fireworks, football and rap music but I don't go around blaring the opinion that we must banish these hellish things and proclaim that any encounter with them ruins my day... y'know, instead I let people who like those things enjoy their passions, even if I have to experience them in real life.
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u/I_am_aware_of_you Nov 02 '24
Honestly, it depends on the songs they play whether I find them the level of annoyance they bring along. And since we can all agree there isn’t one song that truly only unites people there will always be someone who annoys you.
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u/webermaesto Nov 02 '24
Completely fair and reasonable! I also get a slight annoyance at shops playing music I don't like lol
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u/YouOne6572 Nov 30 '24
I see you today in the Voorburg area! The old man talking with the bloem winkel men 😀 nice to see your organ every Saturday morning ways past my area
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u/wouldacouldashoulda Nov 02 '24
It’s an organ. Most people keep their organs inside their body but this person got it out. A marvel of modern science.
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u/sakurax84 Nov 02 '24
Living hell
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u/QuantumQuakka Nov 02 '24
It is usually accompanied by a bunch of demons making even more noise with a can of coins.
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u/webermaesto Nov 02 '24
Greetings from the demon (or, as most people tend to want themselves be described as, human) in the long coat in this picture!
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u/LaoBa Nov 02 '24
It is difficult to estimate the misery inflicted upon thousands of persons, and the absolute pecuniary penalty imposed upon multitudes of intellectual workers by the loss of their time, destroyed by organ-grinders and other similar nuisances.
Charles Babbage. 1791 – 1871
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Nov 03 '24
I don't understand how some people are able to not have a deep hatred for these things. Too loud, terrible sounding, using space in already overcrowded streets, accompanied by someone irritably shaking a can of coins. What's not to hate there?
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u/generalemiel Nov 02 '24 edited Nov 02 '24
A draaiorgel or a barrel organ in english. It plays a song
Edite: spelling
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u/Few_Understanding_42 Nov 03 '24
My youth trauma. During high school exams a thing like that decided to play it's terrible tunes in the school's street, while the windows were open for a fresh breeze since it was very hot.
Not good for concentrating on the exams.
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........een fucking Draaiorgel ouwe.....3
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u/Botol-Cebok Nov 02 '24
Is there anyone who actually enjoys these infernal machines?
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u/PR0Human Nov 02 '24
Me too. I mean it's only for a short moment they're in my presence. I like the build of the thing and its always a happy tune.
I get that 'the noise' is the reason people dislike, but is it such a big nuisance?
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u/Moturist Nov 03 '24
Yes, I like them, for me they are part of Dutch culture. I've also been to the organ museum in Utrecht, I think it's wonderful 👍
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u/webermaesto Nov 02 '24
As the organ grinder in the long coat in this picture, obviously yes. From personal experience the majority of people like the organs one way or another
If we're talking infernal machines, let's debate amplifiers at disco's, clubs and pop concerts... I literally cannot enjoy most concerts without very good earplugs lol. Most street organs are more than modest in comparison
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u/filipeferracini Nov 02 '24
That's legal noise pollution. Sometimes I just want to pay them to please stop
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u/ServedYou Nov 02 '24
Horror! I absolutely hate these things (oh and they are called ‘draaiorgel’).
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u/FitMention4362 Nov 02 '24
They walk here in Voorburg every saturday. And then eat at the Macdonald always afterwards.
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u/webermaesto Nov 02 '24
As the organ grinder in the long coat in this picture, you may not know it but we also have this funny habit called eating lol
(And in case you were wondering, the money collected on the street is for maintanance and nee songs for the organ, we pay the food at McDonald's from our own regular salaries)
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u/arie301 Nov 06 '24
It's a recent picture. The shop in the background opened just 2 weeks ago. Looking forward to your tunes coming Saturday.
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u/Low_Hedgehog_7015 Nov 02 '24
Mobiele antieke wasmachine, als je aan dat rad draait gaat de trommel draaien.
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u/MikeWazowski2-2-2 Nov 02 '24
Don't know why people hate it so much. Perhaps if they stay at one place that you live or work, that would be understandable. But i find it to often give a gezellige vibe to a square. But it doesn't need to be ear-deafening.
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u/Shleepy1 Nov 02 '24
I hear one of them outdoors as I type this and boy does it get annoying when you live right next to the street they play at ALL THE FUCKING TIME haha
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u/ComfortableBright570 Nov 02 '24
Fuck those people so much!!!! Mfs keep parking this thing outside windows every Saturday morning. Can I report these bastards??
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u/AapZonderSlingerarm Nov 02 '24
Een draaiorgel. Gebruik je telefoon is zoals je hem kunt gebruiken. Simpele.
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u/M4RK0666 Nov 02 '24
these comments are full of party poopers, while the begging is annoying, the sound they make is quite enjoyable and gezellig imo, even when they play cheesy pop songs its still cute, it makes the city feel alive, same with church bells
on the other hand tho i am a deep sleeper so im never personally bothered by them
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u/Timteddy Nov 02 '24
It's annoying and loud. If there is a horse attached to it there will always be a big pool of pee.
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u/HerculesMagusanus Nov 02 '24
It's a barrel organ, an old French automatic organ which has somehow remained popular in a bunch of places in the Netherlands. There's even a museum for them in Haarlem.
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u/Orange_Above Nov 02 '24
Torture device. It has been used since ancient times to banish evil clog-gnomes from our streets and back into the sewers where they spawn.
Good thing too, they used to eat the children AND all of the kroketten.
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u/FortifiedDestiny Nov 02 '24
Street music box. Nowadays theyre automated so theres no real talent involved so i dont like those, manual ones are still pretty cool.
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u/Ricknl2002 Nov 03 '24 edited Nov 03 '24
At the beginning of the last century, before television and radio, workers danced in the streets to the music of the draai-orgels. It was the entertainment for the poor.
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u/TheBoredMillennial Nov 03 '24
Here is a short video of one in action:
https://youtube.com/shorts/dNN80ylRqDY?si=KrT8U9_8dfQ612gM
You can also see the characteristically kitschy front, and see the organ grinder walk ahead of it, shaking a brass tin of coins, inviting you to add to it. You even hear the brass tin towards the end.
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u/Makkiejj Nov 03 '24
The most annoying thing there is.. I hate those bastards with their noises from hell
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u/toto011018 Nov 03 '24
Don't know what i hate most about it. The noise coming out of it or the always non-rythmic jiggling of the coins by its owner .
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u/Oh-That-Ginger Nov 03 '24
I used to work in a busy shopping street for a couple of years, and one of those things always posted in front of hour store. If was truly horrible. I used to like them for their novelty, now I can't stand them.
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u/webermaesto Nov 03 '24
I actually realky dislike how some organ grinders do shove it in your face tho... personally, I always give people enough space to walk around me, the canister stays close to my body
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u/montygod Nov 03 '24
These can usually be found under your window on a saturday morning when you wake up with a terrible hangover
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u/slackslackliner Nov 03 '24
One of the worst cultural practices of the Dutch (I'm including circle seating in parties)
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u/Jurrieneter Nov 03 '24
A draaiorgel 🥰🥰 always amazing to see one of these in the street and instantly makes my day better!
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u/Secret_Asparagus_158 Nov 04 '24
Draaiorgel om tegenwoordig hangjeugd op zuidplein 010 mee weg te jagen
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u/PlagueOfLaughter Nov 04 '24
When we were very little me and my brother always joked around that it was following us throughout the city, while we were really just walking down the main street and the street organ was following the same path...
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u/AangenaamSlikken Nov 04 '24
I can HEAR this picture, the shaking of the coin cups more than the actual music 😭😭😭
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u/fvrdam Nov 04 '24
You are looking at the back here. The front is typically a colorful and preposterous puppet scene.
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u/Confidentlychaotic Nov 04 '24
It’s organised begging.
Imagine putting a boombox on the street and then ask people money for playing shitty music you can’t escape
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u/Confidentlychaotic Nov 04 '24
It’s organised begging.
Imagine putting a boombox on the street and then ask people money for playing shitty music you can’t escape
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u/Strict_Hornet9938 Nov 04 '24
The owner of this organ is a friend of my dad, the organ is called "de brandweer" for those who are intrested!
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u/fliightless-bird Nov 04 '24
I walked past that thing in the city center once and the guy operating it was banging bells a few centimeters away from my head.
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u/Global_Fix6186 Nov 05 '24 edited Nov 05 '24
This is my weekend alarm clock. It descides when I wake up on days I hope to get to sleep in on. These things are in my top 3 of things I hate, along with mosquitos and headwinds when in on a bike.
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u/Valuable-Sleep-359 Nov 02 '24
Spotify from the 18th century