JOHN CAGE SPEECH RADIO5

[letronchosier]

Cage's great teaching is to LISTEN, without prejudice, with the curiosity of a child.

I am not sure one can "like" most of his work in the same way that one likes more popular types of music. SHHH Listen

[Wavelength247]

Pomo-a-go go!

[stravinskyrocks]

I saw Cage in performance in Detroit in the early 80s. After the concert, he fielded questions from the audience. I stood up and asked him, "What advice would you give to a young composer?" He stood there contemplating, pacing around the stage for a couple of minutes. Then JC told me, "Do what you believe in."

As a 20-yr-old, I asked myself, "WTF? That's the best you can do?"

Years later, I realized it was the BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED ABOUT COMPOSING.

Guy was a Zen genius.

[Wavelength247]

@stravinskyrocks Great comment THANKS for sharing that with us

[Marmalade000000]

Very interesting piece indeed by Mr. Cage

[kalavazombie]

LARGA VIDA JOHN CAGE!

[DRAN4612]

How is this NOT beautiful?

[jjoefishh]

instead of stuffing it up our ass, we'll just fucking watch it, and you can watch the videos you fucking like, you tit.

[dahliafully]

the original mash up!

[EternalRockShow]

At least Spike Jones in intentionally funny.

[oliverleehornbake]

people like who say this is shit dont't listen. John cage was a true pioneer in modern music. This was an amazing peice. He did things like 433. This was alot of fun to do in person

[154209]

What fucked-up wankers can believe that they can be taken seriously by pretending that they really like this shit? There's real obsessive mental masturbation material on offer here for sad people.

[541ak]

Shut the fuck up with your damned one-word comments. Bastards!

[crap0808080]

You shut the fuck up with your pathetic attempt to defend this bollocks.

[76as54]

Trash.

[aaassshoole]

Shit.

[MYNOSEISFULLOFSNOT]

Bollocks.

[BoringOldSod]

Crap.

[plardqw]

Boring.

[fiddlerfart]

You doubters can't see the forest through the trees - if calling this "music" bothers you...then don't! Makes no difference, that's not the idea. Validity of artistic creation is in the eye of the be-hearer - Cage's obvious passion for this simply MAKES it so.

[sarabear420]

Is this for real? OMFG this guy is a jack ass. I bet those people paid money to see that.

[TheBlackPage1]

Seriously, I have to know what funk song is coming from Cage's radio.

[TheBlackPage1]

What is the funk song coming from Cage's radio?

[8sv]

Get a life, all you sad Cage enthusiasts who are trying so desperately to see something worthwhile in this crappy video! The 1960s, hippie-culture and flower power are long gone, and the days when everything was always fine because we all suspended judgement are far in the past. Today, standards prevail, and anyone trying to support this kind of amateurish shit is tacitly acknowledging their own intellectual failure.

[BoundtoUnwound]

perhaps you're angry with yourself for being unable to be free? It's easier to follow than it is to take a chance at leading your own? I'm not undermining you. But i'm in my own state of assertiveness, denial, confusion, -what do I know? what do you know? It's frightening to exist and create on your own terms. So, by all means, follow if it makes you happy...

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

Today, standards prevail. --But this must be because suspending judgment has not actually threatened standards. That is, questioning authority didn't end the world. SO RELAX!!!

[8ballinthepocket]

cage's philosophy had nothing to do with the hippie culture or flower power you stupid yuppie fuck

and what might be today's standards be?

you're prime example of intellectual failure

[hdsgdyjigwvokjuy]

moronic shit

[ThePukingExperience]

Well said, 8sv. What a load of bollocks. The recipe is simple: fail at understanding Beethoven, then set yourself up as an expert on John Cage. It's happened thousands of times.

The people who claim to appreciate this just need some cultural education. Thick and ignorant.

[BulbousAlsoTapered]

And yet you continue to look at John Cage videos? I've seen your comments on several other Cage videos & they're all equally ignorant. Why not watch things that you like? Surely someone has posted Beethoven videos you could be watching? Although I seriously doubt whether you know anything about Beethoven either.

[andrecornal]

Beethoven makes me puke, just like your name: ignorant snob.

[uoiqw]

What a heap of SHIT! You sad wankers who are getting philosophical over this bollocks just need a good screw.

[sisterenrodentia]

Okay, will everyone calm down with the CAGE 333 video. That video made within the last few months is not the summation of the man's work, at that, 4'33" is not a summation of his work. Cage was not anti-musical, he was for new perspectives on hearing sound. Why would someone who was anti-music have done this at all? If he were so anti- everything he could have just been a librarian. There is a much more constructive and progressive element to all of this.

[khsgvq]

SOME INSANE COMMENTS POSTED ON THE "CAGE BUS 333" VIDEO

'an almost perfect rendition' (BluesMan4613)

'excellent and original presentation' (YESANDNOANDYES)

'a lovely rendition' (anovasjo)

'a fine tasteful presentation' (RockMusicIsCrap)

'a rewarding artistic experience' (Catsarewonderful)

'an inspired performance' (MyTrainIsAlwaysLate)

'a compelling performance' (BillTheBullshitter)

'excellent performance' (fxtto)

'a fascinating artistic experience' (GeorgeBushMustGo)

[cybeavertoo]

what great footage of the man who loved all sounds in music!

'music is structured sound' well, the man clearly didnt fail himself, nor his public.

Did he fail you? All that harsh, frightened and xenophobe comments clearly show the day! Shame on you.

[BillTheBullshitter]

Yes, he loved all sounds, and couldn't distinguish between sounds of value and sounds without value. That's why he was such a poor musician.

Maybe some of you think the sound of a Mozart symphony is equal to (or even less interesting than) traffic noise - that seems to have been Cage's viewpoint - but this is hardly an attitude to be proud of. Cage's admirers are intellectually on the same level of common yobs who listen to pop music. Base minds.

[cybeavertoo]

That Cage loved all sound, doesnt mean he couldnt distinguisg between them!

'Value' is a subjective attachment, completely depending on culture and individual context. No objectives in love and art, baby. Thats why u r such a poor listener. U don't listen to what u HEAR, u listen to what u THINK.

By the way how is ur lovelive?

[RayAtBristolUni]

Establishing whether one can assess art objectively is a big subject. I think the more anyone understands the complex issues involved the less likely they are to want to commit themselves to a definite 'yes' or 'no'. Or perhaps we should say that the answer is both 'yes' AND 'no'. But cybeavertoo, the answer is certainly not 'no' without qualification. Some objectivity can be established, but it's a big issue.

But why should we want to listen without thinking?

[RayAtBristolUni]

cybeavertoo: You write 'no objectives in love and art'; does that mean that you equate 'art' and 'love' as experiences?

The search for objectivity in art is valid, as some people want to rationalise intellectually why they enjoy music (some music seems even more expressive when one understands the logic behind it, with other music it seems to make no difference at all). But to search for objectivity in love seems pointless to me. One just accepts love for what it is.

[cybeavertoo]

well it was just a little quirk, but thinking about it, i do think love and art are experiences. The absolutes r in the realm of the subjective, which r not comparable, and cant lead to objectivities in terms of value.

However (as in most discussions about objectives art) one can try to get a hold on art from its contextual aspects.

Thats why, to enjoy art u also have to 'enjoy' or understand its context. Thats why the controversy about valuation between classic, jazz and pop-minded people.

[cybeavertoo]

as cage, coming from the classic/composing side, is valuated from that context, a lot of classic minded people rhave difficulties in enjoying or accepting his music, because he. through his music, was so intended to ask questions about the genuity of 'established' objectives in that realm, like tonality, soundsource (instruments), and the more. In that his music is almost non-traceble from that context.

[cybeavertoo]

It is interesting to see most appreciation comes from people nowadays working in the electonic 'pop' scene : ambient, drumandbass, industrial. I think Cage shifted contexts and through that has been controversial to our present times.

So in the end, i think music is to enjoy, rationalising leads only to comforts/discomforts in the contextual realm.

[4444444444444444454]

Hey, you guys are so full of SHIT!

What are you discussing this crap for? There's no point, just shut the fuck up.

[TelevisionIsBoring]

Why is everyone so wildly enthusiastic about the performance of 4'33" on a No.333 bus somewhere in South America? Search for 'cage 333'.

[WiseWordsAboutSpam]

Spam is a major element in 21st century life. We must all decide where we stand in the great spam debate. Do you like spam? Or do you not like spam? Or are you confused about whether you like spam or not? Or would you like to consult a spam expert for guidance? This is an important issue of great social relevance.

[72436142093457354848]

No, I do not like spam.

[stinkingfart]

This is just crap, and even Cage's most zealous apologists are going to have their work cut out trying to explain why any reasonable person shouldn't dismiss this video as total bollocks.

[SSSHHHIIIITTT]

Yeah, it's crap. But there will also be some nerds who claim to see something in it.

They can stick this up their f****** assholes.

[satanicsquirrel01]

ikqw (2 weeks ago): anal

TheAmazingSpammer (2 weeks ago): bollocks

spewspewspew (2 weeks ago) Fucking shit.

universeshit (2 weeks ago)Total utter bollocks.

...what, so you don't like it?

i think that's quite interesting, but i don't really like the sound of it. it's like he's kind of stolen music off other people.

[lKR1S]

what the fuck was that

[qiu9]

It's John Cage's concept of 'creating' a piece of music. Cage's big idea about creating music used to be messing about with radios. This kind of trash even gets published by Peter Edition in New York.

As far as I'm concerned, they can take the printed music and wipe their asses with it.

[lKR1S]

if they wiped their asses with it, it would be even more shittier

[Unbihexium]

The problem is that many of young people don't even notice that what they cultivate as music is not more than a light popularized version of such philosophical ideas. The great devide between the music of "Beethowen", R. Strauss or Schönberg or whoever you like and Cage is that Cage broke away with tradition consciously. He did't want to be like one of them, therefore it is possible to like both Bach and Cage. Or Messiaen and Purcell, Kurtág and Offenbach.

[Unbihexium]

As you can probably see - if you have eyes and hear if you have ears - contemporary music (art) had discovered everything decades earlier, which later became commerce (pop) art. Mixing musical materials are not as new as it seems for those totally uneducated (in art), but regularly visit places with loud noises, "for fun".

[ikqw]

anal

[LotsOfVerbalShit]

Hey man this is shit but some retards seem to like it they need a kick up the ass

[72436142093457354848]

Congratulations on posting a brilliant and perceptive comment which I'm sure has given us much to think about:)

[kjhahjashashsah]

yeah, anyone who likes this can stuf it up their fukin ass

[Catsarewonderful]

"May I ask what is so great about Beethoven?" he says. LOL!

Sorry, buddy, I think you've found your way into the wrong area of YouTube. Try a search on 'Spice Girls' or 'Robbie Williams' and you'll get just the kind of music your little brain can cope with!

[fxtto]

Hey, Catsarewonderful, SHAKINJAMAICAN101 isn't that bad! His favourite videos include Bach and Webern; I can't see any Robbie Williams videos amongst his favourites, thankfully ...

[Catsarewonderful]

But no cat videos amongst his favourites; that's bad news. Even Cage liked cats, apparently.

[shakinjamaican101]

I'm sorry I have no cat videos. Cats are just not my thing. I've had horrible experiences with cats... I will just leave it at that.

[shakinjamaican101]

I'm pleasantly suprised that Webern is okay in your book.

[shakinjamaican101]

Your comment makes me laugh. I know you may not realise but I have no idea who Robbie Williams is and Spice Girls was before my time. Besides the whole pop genre is merely a joke. The only reason I said: what was so great about Beethoven, is that I am trying to see what responses I would get.

[fxtto]

I'd certainly prefer that people listen to John Cage than to Robbie Williams or the Spice Girls, who are the lowest of the low ...

[shakinjamaican101]

Agreed. At least audiences will think during the performances of Cage and not be hit with the same pop crap over and over.

[shakinjamaican101]

Don't get me wrong I think Beethoven is alright, it's just analysing his pieces are so boring, I find Bach more intriguing. To each his/her own, correct? I apologise for the misconception for me being a classical hater, which in fact I am far from actually being.

[fxtto]

Pathetic mindless shit. And sad people listen to it, pretending to like it.

Grow up and try listening to a Beethoven symphony sometime - you might get an insight into what constitutes art.

[shakinjamaican101]

May I ask what is so great about Beethoven, besides the fact of leaving an influence of Romantic/emotional B.S.composers and imprinting diatonicism for all of us to be conditioned to?

[fxtto]

Your comment sums up what Cage's work does to listeners. It robs them of any artistic or intellectual responsiveness to music which they may have originally had.

That's why Cage's work is so base; it stunts the mind.

[shakinjamaican101]

Hmmm So because Chopin and Mendelssohn hated Beethoven that also stunts them? The question is what is artistic? It's funny because people thought that Beethoven was the downfall of art and yet now Beethoven is held a standard for musical art. Funny how that works. Same goes for Wagner and Schoenberg.

[fxtto]

You need to check your facts: Chopin's repertoire for his concerts in salons regularly included the variations from Beethoven's Sonata No. 12 in A flat (Op. 26) whilst Mendelssohn modelled his own Sonata in E major Op. 6 on the Beethoven Sonata No. 28 in A, Op. 101. Both composers admired Beethoven.

Appreciating culture is about coming to terms with it, not about 'liking' of 'hating' it. This was Cage's problem - he couldn't relate to previous cultural ideas.

[shakinjamaican101]

Touche, I regretted immediately posting that comment. Yes Mendelssohn did not hate Beethoven in fact the prodigy was freakin' inrigued with him (but more intrigued with Bach) I am not sure about Chopin though, I was just going from what my teacher told me. Don't get me wrong I think Beethoven was alright but I like Bach better, To each his own. Cage was a radical and a lot of his ideas I disagree with but again it is more with the concept than it is with the music.

[miisu]

The emperor's new clothes.Irritating,useless noise.Actually I don't hate Cage,I hate his elitist shithead fans.

[brw0044]

@miisu irritating and useless are definitives. try to avoid speaking in definitives when voicing your own personal opinions.

[fossilfuelmusic]

@miisu lol I have never met a John Cage fan in my life. maybe thats why they are elitist shitheads.

[nanzs]

Wake up everyone! What happened to professionalism and standards in general?

Half the assholes who are making a fuss about John Cage's 'greatness' don't even know the standard classics.

Great short cut, folks: if you don't know Beethoven, don't know Mahler, don't know anything about musical culture, just pretend to like Cage and think of yourself as really smart!

This is shit!

LOL!

[universeshit]

Total utter bollocks.

[WonderfulWorldOfShit]

Absolutely true. People who pretend to admire Cage's music don't realise that they are supporting a movement which seeks to undermine the validity of artistic creation. Cage was not just unmusical, he was ANTI-musical.

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

Cage questioned the the special qualities of listening we bring to hearing music were the only valid ones. Also, he questioned whether those trained to hear sounds in terms of musical functions could actually hear other qualities found in the same sounds. In order to open ears to these other qualities he intentionally disturbed the attention away from and back toward musical listening. It's like being born again, so to speak.

[HeyShitfaceUAsshole]

That's an interesting way of looking at it. I do not reject Cage entirely, but surely the massive enthusiasm being shown for the 'cage 333' performance of 4'33" on the bus is getting out of hand. People are trying to see things in it which surely aren't there. One of the YouTube comments about the performance says that it is a 'democratic statement' and he has received +109 in ratings for that comment!

[iwanttowatchsomethin]

Well, I haven't checked out that video or the comments (I will later) about it. Certain aspects of Cage's modus operandi were developed from his egalitarian politics. Such a comment as you describe is therefor within the realm of what can be expected, though I'll have to see for myself whether the situation on the video merits a comment such as that. Thanks for finding my perspective interesting.

[notjsph]

@nanzs Notice how no one is telling you to wake up. We're all silent.

[wasfq]

"Made in USA". Yeah, I agree with "arseholecity" said, what else can one expect of a country which voted in GWB?

LOL!

[BillTheBullshitter]

GWB? What else can you expect of a country which voted in a man as stupid as Ronald Reagan? The White House should have been painted black after he'd been there.

Yes, LOL!

[BillTheBullshitter]

bollocks

[tutuband]

I feel sorry for people who can't understand this stuff. Read Cage's *Silence*, and take the trouble to understand it. It will enrich your life. It's sort of dated by now but if you don't understand it, it's not dated yet.

[PleaseDontShagTheDog]

I've seen "Silence". It's all bollocks. Cage was barely articulate.

[KingBoneheadVIII]

I disagree. "Silence" is an interesting book.

[FILLMEUPWITHWHISKY]

Yes, absolutely, it's "made in USA" of course. Where else could you find a bunch of wankers who could dream up something as crappy as this shit.

[arseholecity]

Yeah, Americans voted in George W Bush AND they also promote this radio shit by Cage. Two big mistakes. What a country!

[spewspewspew]

Fucking shit.

[thehappydustbin]

This has no artistic value at all. It's just shit.

[MyTrainIsAlwaysLate]

People say they admire Cage just to irritate knowledgeable classical music lovers. Some losers have a grudge about classical music (maybe because they think it is elitist, which it is not) so they want to attack 'artistic' creation by supporting 'anti-artistic' rubbish like this.

4'33" is a meaningful piece; 4'33" has validity. But the rest of Cage's output is intellectually empty, anti-artistic, disgusting sonic faeces.

[pigeonvomit]

Yes, that's true. In terms of professional competence, Cage was a failure in the musical scene right from his student days with Schoenberg but eventually he achieved popular success. So people these days who fail at their musical ambitions support Cage zealously; it makes them feel better if they can prove that you don't need to achieve professional competence to be considered 'successful'. Cage's output is obviously rubbish; Cage's fans need psychological help.

[Pissartistry]

Yes this is about as bad as American "culture" can get. Crap.

[DAYOFDEADLYDOOM]

Trash. Made in USA, LOL!

[popmusicmakesmevomit]

OMG, screw this crap.

[smierco]

Muy loco pero genial

[mikemadden89sonic]

Hey, what is that funky bass song that is in the beginning of the video and at the start of the performance? John Cage is the greatest by the way!

[umbringer]

Skeptics of John Cage should pick up "music for prepared piano". An amazing piece of work.

[normvogel]

My fav Cage piece is "Variations IV". 4'33" is pretty good, but a bit too loud for me.

[STEVETHEBlKER]

Maybe he was a great philosopher but surely common sense should tell us that this puerile crap isn't decent music, no matter how you define the term.

Compiling lists of random letters don't make great literature either.

[BrucknerEnthusiast]

Steve, congratulations on finally managing to post a comment on a John Cage video without using the words f***, b****** or s***. Your contributions to the comment sections on some of the other YouTube John Cage videos "don't make great literature either".

I agree with you about this piece. I accept 4'33" as a legitimate piece of music, but surely this radio piece has no artistic value?

[BrucknerEnthusiast]

I've tried to be openminded about Cage for decades, and I acknowledge that some of his interesting ideas raised issues that needed to be addressed by the classical avant-garde in the 1950s. However Cage's 'non-interventionist' approach to art is tantamount to voluntary defeatism, distinguishable from 'non-creativity' only by the flimsy inarticulate philosophy which Cage himself only ever half understood. It's time to stop wasting effort on this infantile post-Satie amateurism and to move on.

[anaklasis]

After World War II, talking in general lines is not useful. There are many lines as composers, so there is no trend to move...not to mention a trend which some composers were on nowadays. Maybe many people don't like Cage (or some works by him...have you heard A Dream?), but contemporary music does not consist of his music.

[FlorestanEusebius]

I've met Cage during a project on his work in the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1988. The strange thing is that he was for me during that time a creative source of inspiration.

I agree with amanogawa999: he was a Master/philosopher who happened to work in the field of sound, music, ideas, and mushrooms.

[Screamgreats]

So these people actually paid to listen to a group of people play with their radio dials? Were they playing back prerecorded faux radio transmissions, or did Cage contact all the local radio stations and get them to all play the most generic and lame music possible as to allow Cage to use the music without having to licensing it?

[flobrino]

because we must

[qtyqty4]

.egac hnoj.

[vanderhoof]

YOU SPELLED NHOJ WRONG

[GabTerra]

é imprecionante, tem BABACAs em todas as partes do mundo, tem gente que não tem a menor capacidade e interece de entender a obra de Cage.

[grandpascorpion]

absurd but bland

[amanogawa999]

bringing movement of the performer into the "serious" music hall. Bringing "indeterminacy", into "serious" music, bringing "silence" -literally- into "serious" music, bringing "electronic media" (tho he may not have been the very first?)- and thus globalism- into "serious" music... not to mention whimsy and magic and soft revoultion... and Im sure there are many other aspects Im unaware of...

he was a Master who happened to work in the field of sound, music, ideas, and mushrooms.

[vanderhoof]

TOO RIGHT!!!!1

[TheAmazingSpammer]

bollocks

[skittles1984]

how can you people see this as art. there is no creativity here. its an interesting theory but dissonant sounds do not make music. We had to watch this entire documentary in one of my classes...made me wish i had some arsenic with me.

[tomidlak]

coz you are only used to contemporary crap pop music written in one or two keys. john cage is more than musician, he's a philosopher. he broke so many standards...don't you see it? it's not JUST music, ONLY music, it's the sound philosophy which pulled contemporary music forward. there wouldn't be any industrial, techno, electro music without him (and also pop music which is very inspired by him). he's father of 20th century music coz and philosophy of it.

[iluvperkushun]

skittles, what IS music then? and why can dissonant sounds not be considered music? ALL the master composers have used dissonance in their music. The music you listen to on the radio is FULL of dissonance. It's the dissonance that let's us appreciate the consonance. It's how the dissonance is treated that makes it work. And again, I ask you...what IS MUSIC? You have to figure that out before you decide what sounds make music and what sounds don't.

[vanderhoof]

TURD

[barthroom]

cage really paved the way for modern experimental music...radiohead uses actual radios on stage as part of their songs?

[Liqia]

thanks for sharing this excellent video.

[vlnbot]

Clearly having fun - about as silly as you can get - and all those sitting with the necessary facial expressions - great!

[bowerbird]

thank you for posting this.

[marazapan]

where can i find the whole video?

[amnesiacsmuzak]

this clip is from a documentary film called "i have nothing to say and i am saying it" (a famous statement by cage). :)

[ge45ty45gtergwerg]

Can anyone tell me why this wasn't just a huge waste of time?

[DoubleM]

My guess would be that Cage simply respects sound for it's intrinsic value.

I also assume it had something to do with the frequencies of each radio show.

[frankiepop]

The 1st elec music was probably Cage's orch w/radio. since the radio is a standard instrument with elec avants and pop musicians. Was this great? well, we didnt really get to hear the piece, but u never know what you will get with chance music...

[tinypapercube]

Absolutely not. It's a secret.

[caucazoidandroid]

Life is a waste of time

[actron]

Unique sound combinations without the interference of human intention.Cage organized the possibillitys but the broadcasts will always be different.

[TheLittleDildo]

yes man this is shit u need this rammed up your fukin ass

[BiggestErectionInUSA]

Another asshole who can't spell. 'fukin' should have a 'c' and a 'g'. The standard of literacy these days is appalling.

[qpqpqpqpqp2]

what you fucking care about spelling for you idiot stuff your spelling up your fucking ass

[TheFutureofBullshit]

Bullshit is a major social force today. The world revolves around bullshit. We can't do without it, because the structure of society can't survive without it. Much of what we read in the papers is bullshit: the truth manipulated by commercial and/or political interests.

Cage brings the whole question of bullshit into the public arena. Now bullshit is out in the open, praised, glorified, even intellectualised. Is that good or bad?

[thedingfoundation]

well...you all seem to agree!

[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?

[qoiubs]

YOU GUYS ARE FULL OF SHIT!!!!

[SweetSweetWaldo]

Invaluable archival footage. Cage is my muse!

[RicardoPadua]

a great video! please don't remove it.

[gregasterisk]

this is from the cage video 'i have nothing to say and im saying it'

lots of other great stuff on this one.