John Cage "4 minutes 33 seconds"

[lester1/2jr]

All I have to say is:























































.okay here's the clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E
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[Rev. Powell]

I put on a recording of this every night to fall asleep to.

[lester1/2jr]

it's the special memorial day version.   A tribute to americas fallen heroes

[Jack]

I think Andrew has that playing on the message board right now.

[zombie no.one]

read some absolute tosh about this track. "every performance is different"..."it's all about the audience reaction" etc...it's a bit like those paintings that are just a big black square with a white dot in the middle and some hack comes along and goes "hmm, yes that white dot represents the artist's inner optimism amidst a conflicting sea of negativity represented by the black". erm no, it's just a big black square with a white dot in the middle you cretin.

reminds me, when the government in the uk introduced the Criminal Justice bill, one of the rules was that any public demonstration of "repetetive beats" was - in theory - a criminal activity, so the dance group Orbital released a 'Criminal Justice remix' of one of their tracks, which was just 8 minutes of silence. I thought that was a good move.

[lester1/2jr]

pootie tang did a hip hop version of this

[Allhallowsday]

Yes, the greatest piece of music never written.   

[lester1/2jr]

here's a bonus avant clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13D1YY_BvWU&feature=player_embedded
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[Raffine]

I prefer the string quartet version to the full orchestra one.

[Trevor]

Didn't Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel do something like this? The Sounds Of Silence, I think it was called. 

[peter johnson]

I had the Italian studio recording of this -- seriously! -- on the Frankenstein label.  Had to sell it when broke once upon a time.  Probably worth a fortune to a collector today --

I had Cage's Mushroom Music and prepared piano concertos on Nonesuch as well.  Also Symphony for Radios.

Cage was one of those people whose ideas were more compelling than the actual execution, though not always.  He was one of the first people to experiment with Motion-capture techniques and created a stage that played music in response to Merce Cunningham's dance moves.  He also famously observed that there is no such thing as actual silence -- Even in an anechoic chamber you will hear a low sound and a high sound: The low sound is your circulatory system, and the high sound is your nervous system.

Cage led a fascinating life, and his books and essays inspire chuckles & head-scratching.  I'd recommend reading up on him if you're unfamiliar with his pioneering spirit.

peter johnson/denny crane

[Doggett]

What are people applauding ?

I can do nothing...see did it just then.
I don't see what the fuss is about.

[peter johnson]

Ah, but you didn't really "do nothing", did you?  I mean, your typing that you were doing nothing was doing something -- and who is this "you" that was acting . . . or not acting, as "you" claim . . .?

Cage was, among other things, attempting to apply Zen Buddhist principles to artistic creation.  Hence the "silence" divided into sections.  It's more of a meditation on the nature of the "real" world than something to be considered "music" in the traditional sense.

See if you can find a recording of him reading his "22 Stories in 22 Minutes", or a variation thereof.  Most of the "stories" are taken from Zen koans, and make for a funny and exhilirating experience.

peter johnson/denny I've got ball bearings on my piano strings . . .

[skully13]

 If you enjoyed this particular John Cage piece, you should go to youtube and search for his piece "Water Walk."