John Cage playing amplified cacti and plant materials with a feather

John Cage performing on Nam June Paik's TV special called 'Good Morning Mr. Orwell' from 1984. In the beginning, we see that Cage is joined by Takehisa Kosugi and one other unidentified person. perhaps they were performing a composition or improvisation that they would have done during a Merce Cunningham dance. there is also a cut away to a Joseph Bueys piano performance art piece.

more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Mor...

• Category

  Music

[borjon23]

This is a convincing argument that just because you can play an amplified cactus, it doesn't mean you should.

[mcgstudmuffin]

I actually really fucking like this. Why does that guy have to talk over it so much?

[davehshs]

No doubt, Cage stretched the definition of music. But until a substantial number of humans agree with his expanded definition, his efforts will continue to be an intellectual curiosity for the mathematically inclined and lovers of novelty, and will not be considered music by most people. After all, words become meaningless when there is no agreed-upon definition for them.

[SmallRubberFeet]

Have you read Genesis of a music by Harry Partch? He touches on this in great detail, and talks about how post-Liszt era was so focused on the virtuoso, they completely abstracted the idea of music into meaninglessness.

The corporeal, primal instincts to make music were where true music lies, in his opinion.

[SmallRubberFeet]

It's simply because he fundamentally disagreed with that definition of music. Music can be both a practice in the ego and emotion and it cannot; it can be a message as protest, or it cannot.

Music that expresses emotion can be very beautiful, and music that is not meant to express emotion can be very beautiful.

We needn't limit ourselves by choosing one or the other.

[FallenEmpty]

I feel so confused... Is this the meaning of life?

[robin2012ism]

shut up! george plimpton is explaining.

[Helio graf]

COS HES FUCKING SQUARE!

[shizlnit]

drugz

[davehshs]

I'm glad we agree on the emotion of music. Harry Chapin is also a favorite of mine. He really poured his soul into his music. I was greatly moved by his singing at one of his concerts in the late '70s, not too long before his untimely death. Even though I appreciate the primal sound of some Australian Aborigine music, Cage just doesn't arouse the same feelings in me. But I do appreciate the fact that it does so for you.

[Tyler Bates]

I think it also perhaps emulates the basis of modern music and what our ancestors may have heard to establish what we call song. I'd love to go back in time just to study ancient cultures and their music making. This type of experimentation at least to me seems to make a nod to that.

[Tyler Bates]

I like your argument about the emotion of music which I totally side with. Most of my favorite bands are folk artists from the 60's and in particular Harry Chapin who seemed to operate on a very human level of emotion. It speaks to almost everyone. The argument of creating definitions because we are human touches on a whole separate topic that I love to research, but is far too lengthy to discuss on Youtube. I suppose I enjoy Cage and similar music because it stirs up primal feelings in me.