John Cage murmurs under his breath that perhaps we are being shielded. Even with these ground breaking new electronics to push our limits into further realms of music making, we are still lost in the past, attempting to recreate what we know and are comfortable with hearing - with listening to. When do we begin to throw the bowlines and break into the open sea of sounds' possibilities. Make a piece of 'music' in complete silence. Is this the furthest we can stretch? It is quite, as it comes as a challenge to anyone concerned, as a joke to anyone not trying too hard to decipher it all, letting it just Be, for whatever Cage had in mind for it. What is it we hear here, listen to, find, within these new soundscapes we're constructing. Can we push beyond, or have we waned on th crescendo and reached a crest? Caught in constant recreation or imitation of those that've been done. (Let's have it again, shall we!) Mix it in a little, spin it around, freshen things up a bit. Or press repeat and find you've come to be quite good at the lyrics and tapping along, even when inconstant beats interject, seems to be no problem at all.
Where I like to follow Mr. Cage is the path he wanders down in notice of those subtle differences between what we are willing to label as music and what must remain in the categories of sound and noise.
"..IN THE PAST, THE POINT OF DISAGREEMENT HAS BEEN BETWEEN DISSONANCE AND CONSONANCE, IT WILL BE, IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, BETWEEN NOISE AND SO-CALLED MUSICAL SOUNDS.."
To incorporate the everyday into our musical lives could lead to intriguing experimentation. Could/will/does lead, as he implies, to challenge the labels we concede upon these compositions. But he, among a few clever others, has already begun pushing, and continue to push he will!
go Johnny go.
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2 comments:
If this blog is indeed delving into the mind of James Lee Mead, then I'm loving it. When i first heard 4:33, i found it a cute conceptualizing of post-modern culture at best, but after seeing the video, and reading your thoughts, i have to admit i wish i could have been in the auditorium while the orchestra sat silent. A new appreciation for "music" might have arisen. Lets just say im taking it for less of a joke and more of a challange. "Can we push beyond, or have we waned on the crescendo and reached a crest?" we have NOT reached a crest, nor have we even started the crescendo. although, music being as over saturated as it is, some would seem to think, but i disagree. I havent gotten a chance to click all your links but im excited to delve into your a blog a little more. And although i had a little too much shrubbery on my mind earlier, let me just say that i disagree with your TA, and agree with your idea. You should not be required to dumb down your thoughts and ideas in order to fit them into the mold of your audiences lack of understanding (myself included.) the reason your blog is so effective in my mind is that its only effective if you care enough to take the time to read it for what it is. So dont simplify your writing to let the outsiders in, its more fun when they're a little confused.
One thing i must point out is just that neither mr. Sacco nor mr. Bach asked me to "dumb it down", that was merely one interpretation of the instructions "to clarify" and "make more navigable". What it comes down to is the question; if art is too much of an initial challenge, are a majority of viewers lost due to a lack of interest in being more involved- are less people inclined by their curiosity to explore? Should the problem be addressed as laziness or are we just becoming very adapted to an immediate-answer society; speedy sales pitches and fast lane advancements...? How many people are there left that will take the time to "delve", as you say, play; investigate
explorative |-rətiv| |ɪkˈsplɔrədɪv| |ɛkˈsplɔrədɪv| |ɪkˈsplɒrətɪv| |ɛk-| adjective
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense [investigate (why)] ): from French explorer, from Latin explorare ‘search out,’ from ex- ‘out’ + plorare ‘utter a cry.’
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