Rare is the subway peddler who makes much of an impression but a guy who calls himself “Subway Man” drew a unusually big crowd of patrons on my uptown 3 ride last week.

Subway Man is a well-dressed, sixty-something guy who sells plastic MetroCard holders for one dollar a piece. “Slide In. Slide out,” says Subway Man with good volume and enunciation as he demonstrates the product two-handed without losing his balance. People in the car I was riding in dug into pockets and purses for money to buy the item. Between 34th and 42nd, Subway Man sold at least a dozen card holders after just a single sales pitch.

Why such success? I credit Subway Man’s down-to-earth and simple technique. He grabs your attention with his title and convinces you quickly that the best place for your MetroCard is not where you keep it currently but in this thing he has and will sell to you for a flat dollar. He’s Subway Man. Slide In. Slide out.

-If you like false endings in your toonage, they don’t get much better than the one in the great new cut “Gary” from Speedy Ortiz. At the 2 minute, 57 seconds mark, the song seems over and fully accomplished at kicking your ass. Four full ticks of the clock worth of silence later, the song comes roaring back at you for more. It’s a great false ending used to maximum effect. The first time I heard the song, I was blown away. The 10th, 20th and 30th time is almost as good.