Opus 20 Modern Masterworks: John Cage - Part 2

[windstorm1000]

someone asked here what's the difference between Cage doing nothing and another person doing nothing while composing. well, if you had listened to this video instead going to get a bowel of cereal, you would have heard that though his music is by chance, it isn't an abondment of that chance.

[windstorm1000]

John Cage is an American original. And whether you like his 'music' or not you my fellow Americans, you should atleast appreciate the listening barriors he broke! So lets support his genius and his compositions that deserve to be heard--or rather experienced-- more often in the concert hall. No more negative comments please.

[Ugallardo]

@windstorm1000 Oh PLEASE! The man is insane! What barriers!? Maybe you are as crazy as him.

[teaquack]

i like his notes

[lawsie27]

what channel did this series air on

[mindcontrolsalsa]

just sit, breath, listen + space out

repeat the above

as needed..

Cage = Zen mind

[adamsfunnyfilms]

what a trip!!

[pureEVA]

For those who understand the word 'music' to mean the more rigid 'musical tradition', think of it like representational art vs abstract art. They each have their own place.

[pureEVA]

Like any other artist, you have to put him into the context of his time. He started composing these kinds of pieces poswtwar, when you had movements like Abstract Expressionism and Existentialist philosophy becoming popular. Like Abstract Expressionism, Cage's works had themes of perceived chance and the unconscious. It says a lot about the state of the world at the time. We would no more dismiss Jackson Pollack's paintings as random dribblings of paint than Cage's 'music' as a bunch of noise.

[laurion69]

He was never gifted for music and tried always to hide his deficiency throught inconclusive talks that had nothing to do with music.

He tried was not a musician as well as was not a philosopher.

[pmyadlowsky]

Whether or not he was gifted for music (rather, musical tradition), I'm very glad that he did so well whatever it was he was doing, that he was so wonderfully proficient at hiding his "deficiency".

[anferlo]

while we are talking about HIM here, you're behind a computer doing nothing too: Where's the difference between cage doing nothing and you doing so?

[TheCardiacShakespear]

@laurion69

Really, many of his works are highly listenable and gratifying classical compositions, I would suggest the, "Arvo" series as an example. He is simply best known for his controversial works, but that is, by far, not all there is to Cage.

[laurion69]

Cage simply could not learn to play and to compose.

So he invented his abstruse and non-sense craps.

That's all...

[fionasapple]

I appreciate that cage was trying something almost completely new with his "art" but i would never pay money to buy a cd of his. If i wanted the sounds of nature i could just open the window and listen to it.

to me this "art" doesn't depict any sort of emotion at all. and i'm all for being different & unconventional. But this is just preposterous!

[pmyadlowsky]

@fionasapple, you wouldn't buy a Cage CD? Neither would he. Of course you could just open a window and listen. That's precisely what he's inviting you to do. But do you? Most people can't and don't, being tangled up in sticky threads of ego; emotion. Cage wasn't interested in expressing himself. He was interested in getting outside of himself. In this, emotion can only be an impediment. Despite your stating so, I don't think you understand or appreciate Cage at all. Take a closer look.

[fionasapple]

I appreciate his attempts at creating something new. I'm not a fan of his creations as i don't get the point of listening to them. Why do you listen to Cage's creations?

and i hate to disappoint you but A WHOLE LOT of people have tried opening the window and just listening to the sounds around them & forgetting about whatever they're going through.

It's just not a substitute to music that's all i'm saying.

He hasn't really created anything. He's just pointed out some interesting facts.

[pmyadlowsky]

@fionasapple: If you don't get the point of Cage's creations, then I don't see in what sense you appreciate his efforts. I listen to (and read and view) his works because doing so further inspires me to attend to absolutely everything. I can think of no avocation more marvelous than that. Cage has spoiled me for that narrow subset of music to which you seem to refer. Frankly, it no longer interests me.

[pmyadlowsky]

@fionasapple: I very much doubt that "a whole lot of people" have ever tried listening at all. Passive entertainment is so much easier. I can't hear a thing when my head is filled with the constant chatter of my own self-stuff. Self-distraction within that field of that chatter ("forgetting", as you say) seems to be the name of the game, and is what drives much popular music. Cage was about something entirely different, not mere substitution.

[S4sando]

All these negative comments about Cage, to me, just shed light on the uneducated ears which -very- select portions of his music fall upon.

[amgine51497131]

There is nothing genius about Cage. He Realised he could never be a great musician - he responded to this by "composing" sounds which had no meaning or intellectual depth and acted as though he was a great, misunderstood genius.

[Ltlevim]

How is one supposed to read that kind of music?!?!?!

[splatcrash]

these are some of the most intellectual comments i've seen on youtube lol :).

cage is indeed a genius. i love the prepared piano idea... i recently made a dnb track with various samples from 'Sonata I'.

[amgine51497131]

what makes this genius?

[UncleChuckTH]

Guy's a bit closed-minded, no?

[wgaule]

What a great man, sometimes I find his work hard to listen to, but his conceptual approach to sound is refreshing.

[jkennedyk]

Look at the smile Cage has when he's sitting with his Zen teacher. It always amazes me how brilliant people are happiest when learning even more!

[btp209]

Could someone please tell me about the painting at the beginning of the clip? Thank you very much for posting this.

[polymath7]

I believe that's a watercolor on rice paper by Cage himself.

It's funny i should stumble across your question at this moment. I've only very recently learned that Cage was a visual artist as well as a composer and I had planned to head to a local bookstore tomorrow to see if I could find a book on Cage's paintings.

[amaxamon]

Wow - in the 21st Century some people are still threatened by this level of pure creativity - pathetic.

[theritz007]

i find it fascinating as well that there is still such resistance to abstract art and music. it's bizarre, the blindness and ignorance.

[amgine51497131]

This "music" does not threaten anyone.

[sk1zz0t]

Crock of shit.

[richtomes]

He should have removed form and structure from his speech too, and perhaps his body movements and functions - that would have been spectacular, and the ultimate expression ! Wonderful genius !!!

[clubsandwedge]

yes!

[alaksandra]

his music is echo of mental state

[amgine51497131]

yes, a void in which no light can ever exist.

[wbiro]

In thirty centuries, as the 20th grows smaller and smaller until only one figure can be seen, it will be Cage that they see as representative of the century's most significant contribution to serious (cerebral) music (as opposed to romantic, which will still be going strong on the popular front...)

[Isilfea]

Music is entirely subjective.

[pionarch06]

Music is subjective as everything else. It only depends on one's ability to seek innovation. Geniouses are usually understoon after death. John Cage was succesfull enough to bring audience while still alife.

[amgine51497131]

That's because we are living in an age of pretentious fools.

[albul13]

It will never be understood, He forgot to put Ketchup and Musturd in the piano, maybe it would have made a newer discovery, this is not musical revolution, it's a psychological problem from chilhood, music must move you, and Americans are proud they have a composer lol, just stick to hamburgers and sopu operas, we will bring composers from europe and other places of the world

[SweetSweetWaldo]

Water Music, dear?

Oh, what a terrible joke!

But it's my only line!

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

Do you really think that all of America's composers are useless, or are you especially negative on Cage. I just don't understand why you are turning your problems with Cage into a nationalistic problem.

[pionarch06]

This is probably why all of your opinions differ, as your experiences with music and other countries differ. Can you really tell anything about a country, if you have not been there? Reading someone else's opinions does not mean your true agreement with a given subject. It is only your experience that accepts certain things more then others.

..........none of you is wrong about Cage - his music should evoke emotions: possitive and negative.

[Sefardisafran]

Ahhhh, you need brains to understand....

LM

[studiosoho]

you mean we need more than one brain, right? hahah

[BanBullshitInBritain]

What are your views on the great bullshit debate? What is your opinion about bullshit in general? Is it a significant social force? Is it an important element of modern society? Has bullshit developed in recent years? Is the quality of bullshit as high as in the 1980s? Or do you not have views? Do you need advice from a bullshit guidance expert?

Should bullshit become a way of life? Should the future of bullshit be regulated by government legislation, or by qualified independent consultants?

[pinkydinkydooo]

u r but a lamb! baaa

is that music 2 ur ears or do u need a drum beat with that?

[jannokas85]

His genius will not be fully understood until his teachings haven't reached our subconscious mind, but i know his ways will be adopted by even the most conservative composers...because you can't argue with what he said: the function of art is not to communicate one's person, but rather imitate nature. He is telling people to become more organic and natural. That's a very good direction to take.

[SambaDisaWinner]

Genius!

[SweetSweetWaldo]

John Cage did for music what the number zero did for mathematics: Nothing and Everything.

[dos4gw82]

well said.

[albul13]

WOw your a genius, if this music moves you than my dog can communicate with you fluently, this is for experimental students not real audiences who appreciate music that moves them, this is for animals.

[SweetSweetWaldo]

"Great spirits have always encountered violent oppostion from mediocre minds." -Albert Einstein.

BTW, survey your great European composers of today with your Cage-bashing and see how many concur. And YOUR a genius two!

[albul13]

Thank you for calling me genius, i appreciate it.For your imformation, Europeans have already conquered long time ago. This is what happens when you lose the debate. It;s not my great European composers, it's the world's great European composers, that todays music is lacking. It's a fact, Einstein appreciated the classics believe me, the quote had nothing to do here, I'm glad you at least know Einstein, little by little you will get to know true composers, just research more.

[SweetSweetWaldo]

Well, you seem to have hit the nail on the head. This is where my argument falls to the ground! : 0

[pionarch06]

This is probably why all of your opinions differ, as your experiences with music and other countries differ. Can you really tell anything about a country, if you have not been there? Reading someone else's opinions does not mean your true agreement with a given subject. It is only your experience that accepts certain things more then others.

..........none of you is wrong about Cage - his music should evoke emotions: possitive and negative.

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

Actually, Cage enjoyed very little support from academia. Today, he is token mentioning in texts, and most music students I have encountered have been very disinterested. Anyway, I would consider anyone listening to comprise a REAL audience.

[pionarch06]

One thing everyone should know, that it is not a matter of where you come from, but what you experience in life.

[capnbill1]

This really helps my study!

[kingstonavenue]

so good...

[robertronics]

thank you very much for posting this

[gamassera]

really a genious...

[climb2be]

john cage.jhon cega.jnho cgae.cage is.