John Cage: 4'33"
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John Cage: 4'33"
Try to restrain yourselves, though I know it may be hard to restrain your emotions:
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
I actually like this composition.
It's different every time.
It's different every time.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
Although I think it's better as a solo piano piece. The whole orchestra is just distracting.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
I think of it sort of as if a photographer were to exhibit negatives instead of conventional prints. Not a perfect analogy, I know, but...
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
- FBM
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It is therefore beyond reproach" - Contact:
Re: John Cage: 4'33"
I have a guitar and may try to learn it, if I can download the sheet music.hadespussercats wrote:Although I think it's better as a solo piano piece. The whole orchestra is just distracting.

"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
- hadespussercats
- I've come for your pants.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
It's out there.FBM wrote:I have a guitar and may try to learn it, if I can download the sheet music.hadespussercats wrote:Although I think it's better as a solo piano piece. The whole orchestra is just distracting.
Although I think it's still under copyright.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
- hadespussercats
- I've come for your pants.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
This conductor seems like kind of a twat.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
I'll search for the torrent.hadespussercats wrote:It's out there.FBM wrote:I have a guitar and may try to learn it, if I can download the sheet music.hadespussercats wrote:Although I think it's better as a solo piano piece. The whole orchestra is just distracting.
Although I think it's still under copyright.

He's a conductor.hadespussercats wrote:This conductor seems like kind of a twat.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
- hadespussercats
- I've come for your pants.
- Posts: 18586
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:27 am
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"

The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
- FBM
- Ratz' first Gritizen.
- Posts: 45327
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
- About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach" - Contact:
Re: John Cage: 4'33"
Oops. 

"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
- hadespussercats
- I've come for your pants.
- Posts: 18586
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:27 am
- About me: Looks pretty good, coming out of the back of his neck like that.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"

He's an exception! With exceptional taste in popcorn.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
- FBM
- Ratz' first Gritizen.
- Posts: 45327
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
- About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach" - Contact:
Re: John Cage: 4'33"
Good for him! I wonder if he's ever conducted 4'33" and what he thinks of it. I imagine it presents a unique...erm...challenge.
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
- hadespussercats
- I've come for your pants.
- Posts: 18586
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:27 am
- About me: Looks pretty good, coming out of the back of his neck like that.
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
Especially if you want to do it without looking like a twat.FBM wrote:Good for him! I wonder if he's ever conducted 4'33" and what he thinks of it. I imagine it presents a unique...erm...challenge.
The green careening planet
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
spins blindly in the dark
so close to annihilation.
Listen. No one listens. Meow.
- FBM
- Ratz' first Gritizen.
- Posts: 45327
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:43 pm
- About me: Skeptic. "Because it does not contend
It is therefore beyond reproach" - Contact:
Re: John Cage: 4'33"
That, I think, would be the major challenge. 

"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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Re: John Cage: 4'33"
Back in my college days, during my freshman year, I enrolled in a music history class. One of our assignments was to attend six concerts of our choosing, and submit reports on them by the end of the quarter. One of the concerts I decided to attend was an experimental music concert to be performed in one of the auditoriums on campus. I invited a musician friend of mine, as I figured it could be something he might enjoy.
So the night of the concert, we took our seats, and sat through about an hour of incomprehensible noise--clacking of pots and pans, dissonant chords, multiple radios tuned to different stations--that sort of thing. Finally, for the final performance of the evening, a gentleman donned in black turtleneck, John Lennon glasses, and a long pony tail walks up to a beautiful Yamaha grand piano, sits down on the bench, sets a stopwatch for four minutes, thirty-three seconds, puts his hands on his lap, and waits perfectly still and silent, never the touching the keys.
So my friend and I, teenage idiots that we were, start to chuckle a little because, well, we thought this was rather silly. We chuckled quietly at first, but we fed off each other's laughter and we started to lose control. We tried to subdue our laughter, we tried burying our faces in our coats, but there was no stopping it. Before long, other audience members started to laugh, some others sneered at us, and the pony-tailed man was giving us some serious stink-eye. A few more seconds passed, and our giggling had crescendoed into uproarious, uncontrollable, hysterical laughter, and we were feeling pretty embarrassed. Every single person in the auditorium was looking at us.
It was clear by then that the situation had gotten totally out of hand, and there was no possibility of getting things back under control, so we gave each other a nod and broke for the exit. Once outside, we both collapsed on the ground breathless and with tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard.
I can't imagine a better way to experience John Cage: 4'33" for the first time.
So the night of the concert, we took our seats, and sat through about an hour of incomprehensible noise--clacking of pots and pans, dissonant chords, multiple radios tuned to different stations--that sort of thing. Finally, for the final performance of the evening, a gentleman donned in black turtleneck, John Lennon glasses, and a long pony tail walks up to a beautiful Yamaha grand piano, sits down on the bench, sets a stopwatch for four minutes, thirty-three seconds, puts his hands on his lap, and waits perfectly still and silent, never the touching the keys.
So my friend and I, teenage idiots that we were, start to chuckle a little because, well, we thought this was rather silly. We chuckled quietly at first, but we fed off each other's laughter and we started to lose control. We tried to subdue our laughter, we tried burying our faces in our coats, but there was no stopping it. Before long, other audience members started to laugh, some others sneered at us, and the pony-tailed man was giving us some serious stink-eye. A few more seconds passed, and our giggling had crescendoed into uproarious, uncontrollable, hysterical laughter, and we were feeling pretty embarrassed. Every single person in the auditorium was looking at us.
It was clear by then that the situation had gotten totally out of hand, and there was no possibility of getting things back under control, so we gave each other a nod and broke for the exit. Once outside, we both collapsed on the ground breathless and with tears streaming down our faces from laughing so hard.
I can't imagine a better way to experience John Cage: 4'33" for the first time.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." —Voltaire
"They want to take away your hamburgers. This is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved." —Sebastian Gorka
"They want to take away your hamburgers. This is what Stalin dreamt about but never achieved." —Sebastian Gorka
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