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john cage
 

offline welt on 2005-04-25 16:59 [#01576763]
Points: 2036 Status: Lurker



i dig john cage. he relaxes and entertains me.


 

offline CS2x from London (United Kingdom) on 2005-04-25 17:01 [#01576765]
Points: 5079 Status: Lurker



4:33 is the best piece ever written. I really like the bit
around 1:22.


 

offline oper4t0r from OS 1.1 on 2005-04-25 17:02 [#01576766]
Points: 213 Status: Regular



pretentious


 

offline dariusgriffin from cool on 2005-04-25 17:02 [#01576767]
Points: 12426 Status: Regular | Followup to CS2x: #01576765



Great joke.


 

offline dog_belch from Netherlands, The on 2005-04-25 17:03 [#01576769]
Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Show recordbag



Just smell the erudition, mixed with learned humour, in this
thread.


 

offline CS2x from London (United Kingdom) on 2005-04-25 17:05 [#01576771]
Points: 5079 Status: Lurker



Dogs smell revolting. My nose hurts now.

Cage isn't as pretentious as Stouckhousen. No offence to
guys who like him, but after reading a number of interviews
with the guy I came away bitterly dissapointed.


 

offline oper4t0r from OS 1.1 on 2005-04-25 17:06 [#01576774]
Points: 213 Status: Regular



3am eternal is pretty good


 

offline dariusgriffin from cool on 2005-04-25 17:07 [#01576778]
Points: 12426 Status: Regular | Followup to CS2x: #01576771



You are an idiot.


 

offline welt on 2005-04-25 17:08 [#01576780]
Points: 2036 Status: Lurker



even if the person John Cage is pretentious? whatever. i
mean, people tend to forget that aritists in general are
just people who shit and eat. i like the music.


 

offline Torture Garden from Feelin' 2Pacish on 2005-04-25 17:26 [#01576801]
Points: 974 Status: Lurker | Followup to welt: #01576780



Word.


 

offline dog_belch from Netherlands, The on 2005-04-25 17:44 [#01576814]
Points: 15098 Status: Addict | Followup to CS2x: #01576771 | Show recordbag



I'm sure John Cage is weeping bitterly as he reads that
cutting review by Adrian Mole, aged 13 and a qrter.


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-04-25 18:12 [#01576831]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular



i don't think it's really all that hard to make a case for
John Cage being the absolute opposite of pretentious...
anyhow, thusfar he's more interesting to me on a conceptual
level than in terms of the music he composed... but i've
really not heard very much, and i'm not sure i'm ready to
plunge into modern classical just yet...


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-04-25 18:59 [#01576886]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular



JOHNNY CAGE WINS


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2005-04-25 19:05 [#01576890]
Points: 18368 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



FATALITY


 

offline sine wave from Ireland on 2005-04-25 19:56 [#01576928]
Points: 53 Status: Lurker



Read his book, Silence; it's fantastic.


 

offline chaosmachine from Ottawa (Canada) on 2005-04-25 21:32 [#01576980]
Points: 2330 Status: Lurker



"Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole!"


 

offline elusive from detroit (United States) on 2005-04-25 22:51 [#01576995]
Points: 18368 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



omg .... sub zero has entered the gaym


 

offline Bob Mcbob on 2005-04-26 04:09 [#01577138]
Points: 9939 Status: Regular



he is not pretentious.

but he was when he was alive.


 

online big from lsg on 2005-04-26 07:26 [#01577235]
Points: 23730 Status: Lurker | Followup to sine wave: #01576928 | Show recordbag



i bet it's all empty pages!
rofl


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-04-26 07:35 [#01577238]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular | Followup to big: #01577235



you can buy the sheet music for 4'33


 

offline Morton from out (Netherlands, The) on 2005-04-26 08:32 [#01577281]
Points: 10000 Status: Addict | Followup to i_x_ten: #01577238



i got that


 

offline Morton from out (Netherlands, The) on 2005-04-26 08:40 [#01577303]
Points: 10000 Status: Addict | Followup to big: #01577235



it's not all empty pages actually, it's got like two pages,
with some text saying when it was performed, in what ways it
can be performed and that it can be performed with any
instrument or combination of instruments by any
instrumentalist(s)
oh and that the movements (cos it's divided in 3 parts) may
last any length of time


 

offline Morton from out (Netherlands, The) on 2005-04-26 09:09 [#01577357]
Points: 10000 Status: Addict | Followup to Morton: #01577303



oh big wasn't referring to 4'33" :D
anyways, if someone wants to see some bad quality captures
of the amazing sheet music, be my guest


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2005-04-26 09:15 [#01577368]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



BBC Symphony Performing 4'33-video clip


 

offline DeadEight from vancouver (Canada) on 2005-04-26 09:17 [#01577370]
Points: 5437 Status: Regular



i know this probably isn't worth me saying this hear, but
i'm a sucker, so oh well:

4:33 deconstructs the idea of music as an intentional human
performance and invites us to find it everywhere (and
certainly banging on the doors of the concert hall)... Cage
is basically gesturing away from himself in the process,
that's what i mean when i say it's not at all pretentious...
and remember, it's 4:33 not 43:30... it's not like he's
demanding concert goers to pay to sit there for a long-time
listening to nothing, it's really not that much of a demand
to place at all... and the fact that so many people remain
so baffled by it only illustrates that it WAS a point worth
making... and not something that is obvious to everyone.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2005-04-26 09:27 [#01577378]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



essay on 4'33

its kinda long, so heres some selections:

"Although often described as a silent piece, 4'33" isn't
silent at all. While the performer makes as little sound as
possible, Cage breaks traditional boundaries by shifting
attention from the stage to the audience and even beyond the
concert hall. You soon become aware of a huge amount of
sound, ranging from the mundane to the profound, from the
expected to the surprising, from the intimate to the cosmic
–shifting in seats, riffling programs to see what in the
world is going on, breathing, the air conditioning, a
creaking door, passing traffic, an airplane, ringing in your
ears, a recaptured memory. This is a deeply personal music,
which each witness creates to his/her own reactions to life.
Concerts and records standardize our responses, but no two
people will ever hear 4'33" the same way. It's the ultimate
sing-along: the audience (and the world) becomes the
performer."

"Let's tackle a few obvious questions. Is this music? Sure
it is - each sound has a distinct tone, duration, rhythm and
timbre. Isn't it arbitrary? But so are all artistic
conventions. Couldn't a 3-year old have written this piece?
Perhaps. But did he? Did you?"

"The "point" of 4'33", and the appeal of most avant-garde
stuff, is that unlike most music it presents an open process
rather than an attempt to realize a composer's prescribed
directives to achieve a specific intended result. It's an
invitation, not a command."



 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2005-04-26 09:28 [#01577381]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



"But where can music go from here? Perhaps Cage is telling
us that we've arrived at a point where everything should be
possible, that it is now up to each of us to select and
enjoy whatever elements of our world are the most
meaningful, that concerts shouldn't erect a barrier between
art and the outside world but should rekindle our
partnership with nature, and that music shouldn't be an
escape from reality but a tribute to the genius of mankind.
Like Cage himself, 4'33" is a joyful embrace of our world
and all it has to offer. 4'33" empowers us to take charge of
ourselves, to trust our own instincts, to make our own
judgements, to live our own lives. No other work in the
history of music has expressed so much, and yet achieves its
meaning with such disarmingly efficient elegance."

"4'33" was inspired by Cage's visit to Harvard's anechoic
chamber, designed to eliminate all sound; but instead of
promised silence Cage was amazed and delighted to hear the
pulsing of his blood and the whistling of his nerves."


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2005-04-26 09:30 [#01577384]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker



I like this line the most:

"But where can music go from here? Perhaps Cage is telling
us that we've arrived at a point where everything should be

possible, that it is now up to each of us to select and
enjoy whatever elements of our world are the most
meaningful"

and I agree very much so.


 

offline Bob Mcbob on 2005-04-26 09:44 [#01577392]
Points: 9939 Status: Regular



silly me, all this time ive been wasting money on buying
records, when i could have been amazed and delighted to hear
the whistling of my own nerves!


 

offline CS2x from London (United Kingdom) on 2005-04-26 09:51 [#01577402]
Points: 5079 Status: Lurker | Followup to dog_belch: #01576814



I was refferring to Stouckhousen, not John Cage. I actually
like his prepared piano stuff.

Thanks for the guess, but my name isn't that glamorous.


 

offline Zeus from San Francisco (United States) on 2005-04-26 10:38 [#01577447]
Points: 14042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Bob Mcbob: #01577392



I think this work needs to be realized in a historical
context, and what it achieved.

At the time, this concept was a pretty big idea. It changed
how people approached sounds and music, and what was
considered music.

Its because of this, and other pieces of that era, that we
even have all the wacky electronic stuff we all listen to on
this board.

Maybe the piece in itself is silly to you, or the idea may
seem silly in a modern context, but it opened many doors,
which led music to where it is today.

imo


 

offline i_x_ten from arsemuncher on 2005-04-27 08:23 [#01577607]
Points: 10031 Status: Regular | Followup to Zeus: #01577368



that was fantastic.


 

online big from lsg on 2005-04-27 09:22 [#01577661]
Points: 23730 Status: Lurker | Show recordbag



but shouldnt it be called 'xxx bars'? because classical
music is somewhat more free to tempo so it could wind up
when being performed as being 4'32" or even 4'31"


 

offline Combo from Sex on 2005-04-27 10:05 [#01577685]
Points: 7540 Status: Regular



this thread had 33 replies 4 minutes ago


 


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