Could John Cage's 4.33 be the Number One Xmas Single in UK

[Chalkperson]

Don't laugh, this is a Real Recording, done by "Cage against the Machine" and is being made to raise money for Five Music Based Charities...

http://www.facebook.com/cageagainstthem ... 4949752878

[absinthe]

Absolutely. I read about that. Anything to derail X-factor pushing their winner to the top. If the X-factor offering is anything like last year's* I'd sooner 'hear' the Cage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20101207_cage.shtml

* I heard an extract and wasn't sure whether it was my television suddenly heterodyning or next door's dog. Possibly both.

[MaestroDJS]

NewsBiscuit: John Cage 'still being cheated out of royalties for his silent work'
Posted: Oct 25th, 2010
http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2010/10/25/j ... %e2%80%99/

Lawyers acting for the estate of late avant-garde composer John Cage have branded the Performing Right Society for Music 'utterly useless' after it was revealed that it has failed to collect any royalties at all for performances of his most famous work, 4'33" – a three-movement composition consisting entirely of silence.

'These people are only too happy to collect money for the big pop acts each time their songs are played by hairdressers, shops and pubs,' said lawyer Rupert Asquith, 'but they just seem to turn a deaf ear to our client's silent work. Honestly, if John Cage had had a penny for every time office staff were caught getting on with their work while shamelessly listening to 4'33", he could have bought himself some state-of-the-art speakers to properly appreciate his composition.'

In a bid to assert Cage's artistic rights and recoup some of his lost royalties, his lawyers have taken to the streets and are threatening to sue anyone going about their daily business without humming, talking to themselves or otherwise making a noise. 'Public libraries continue to be the worst offenders,' said Asquith. 'They don't even try to pretend they aren't just playing his work on repeat. But at least they appreciate the integrity and beauty of the composition. If anyone interrupts the performance they get roundly hushed and the whole piece is started again from the beginning.'

The campaign by John Cage's estate has found support from famous musicians. 'It's a cause close to my heart as it was the first thing I learnt to play on the piano,' said Elton John. 'It took a while to master, mind. But once you've heard it, it's one of those pieces of music that stays with you. There are still days when I can't get it out of my head.'

But Cage's lawyers accept they have an uphill battle to get people to take their claim seriously. 'The Performing Right Society for Music has plenty to say about fair reward for artistic endeavour, but as soon as we ask about the royalties cheques for 4'33", they go quiet. Can you believe that? They sit there performing his most famous work and won't even stump up a penny.'

Cage's estate is desperate to reach an agreement on royalties quickly so that nothing stops them 'hitting the jackpot' on Remembrance Day when millions of people up and down the country perform a short extract from 4'33".

[some guy]

Hilarious.

And if you go to the site David's linked to, you'll see that the maker's of that news item are going to be facing the wrath of the Rauschenberg estate next for their cheap and unacknowledged reproduction of one of Robert's White paintings.

[John F]

[ChrisX]

Don't laugh, this is a Real Recording, done by "Cage against the Machine" and is being made to raise money for Five Music Based Charities...

http://www.facebook.com/cageagainstthem ... 4949752878

When you think about it is really quite a thought provoking idea. Instead of having our airwaves 'polluted' by some indiscriminate music that most of the time isn't really interesting (and I like me some good popmusic) a few minutes of silence might just be something we all really need every now and then.

[Beckmesser]

Gee, I wish they would play Cage's piece at my gym--over and over again--instead of the stuff they play now.

[Chalkperson]

Don't laugh, this is a Real Recording, done by "Cage against the Machine" and is being made to raise money for Five Music Based Charities...

http://www.facebook.com/cageagainstthem ... 4949752878

When you think about it is really quite a thought provoking idea. Instead of having our airwaves 'polluted' by some indiscriminate music that most of the time isn't really interesting (and I like me some good popmusic) a few minutes of silence might just be something we all really need every now and then.

There is some noise on the single, musician's shuffling their feet, fiddling around with their instruments, Bill Bragg using his Blackberry and some ambient sounds from within the Studio itself...sixty musicians packed into a tiny studio on Dean Street in London's Soho to make this Recording...

[MaestroDJS]

There is some noise on the single, musician's shuffling their feet, fiddling around with their instruments, Bill Bragg using his Blackberry and some ambient sounds from within the Studio itself...sixty musicians packed into a tiny studio on Dean Street in London's Soho to make this Recording...

Here is my favorite performance of this masterpiece.

Out of the Cage
http://charon.sfsu.edu/disaster/cage.html

Many years ago I attended a recital at the University of Illinois concert hall. John Cage was composer-in-residence that year; and, to the dismay of many, he had chosen to present his 4 minutes and 33 seconds (I think that's the title, or a close approximation). It consisted of a pianist sitting on the bench in front of the piano and playing not a note. At the end of the allotted time, the pianist (David Tudor, if memory serves) simply left the stage. Those who know Cage's work will recognize it as part of his theory of silence (as opposed to mere rests) in music.

At the U of I, the concert hall was located in the music building, which also, on the upper floors, held the practice rooms. The pianist came out on stage to polite applause, seated himself at the piano, and proceeded to wait out his 4 minutes 33 seconds. However, somewhere on the upper floors, an aspiring pianist was practicing a passage from a Beethoven sonata — the *same* passage — over and Over and OVER.

But the unseen pianist found the passage no easy task. And so the audience, seated in the solemn silence of the concert hall, heard a distant....

A-B-C-D-E-F# [mistake] "Dammit!"
A-B-C-D-E-F# [splat] "Son-of-a-biiiitch!"
A-B-C-D-E-F#....

I omit the other statements out of my respect for your sensibilities. But you get the idea. It was a stunning performance. The audience applauded wildly, and Cage himself professed to be pleased. And indeed, I remember this recital long after other, more ordinary displays of virtuosity have faded from memory.

— Arthur Chandler

[absinthe]

But that's all that Cage ever wanted: for listeners to listen (not to expect).

[dulcinea]

'tis perfectly proper not to get any royalties for a tomadura de pelo=put on.

[Donald Isler]

Well, I think the Germans used to call Britain "Das Land ohne Musik!" It's not at all so these days, but if this is their no. 1 choice that is funny!