Favorite Recordings #327
4’33” - John Cage - 1952
4’33” is a conceptual musical composition consisting of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of ‘silence’. It premiered in 1952 in Woodstock at a festival of contemporary piano music. It was mostly met with shock and confusion at the time, being regarded as a snarky, punkish Dada inspired act of rebellion. Over time, as people grew to understand what John Cage was trying to do, its reputation as an important contribution to the history of modernist music and conceptual art was sealed. And what was he trying to do? His inspiration came from a few sources, including a visit to a soundproof chamber, where he discovered that pure silence was a virtual impossibility. When in the chamber, absent of environmental sounds, one hears the sounds of their own body. Hey Mr. Soundproof Booth, I want my money back. He was also inspired by Robert Rauchenberg’s 1951 White Painting project, a series of blank white canvasses which (again in painfully subtle and annoying ways to the conventional mind) came alive to the viewer as their context changed: where they were hung, the kind of light that hit them, shadows of the viewers, etc. Sure, I might have wanted my money back here as well. But it was when I heard a few different recordings of performances of the Cage piece, things became a little clearer. One hears the sounds of the performer(s) setting up for the start, the sounds of the audience, an occasional cough, ambient sounds, and then of course the mixed audience reaction at the end, some boos, some bravos, some tentative applause etc., it all creates a kind of frame. You’ll never not hear something at a performance of the piece. To take it a little further, it all ends up being about everything but the music: In addition to the ambient sounds, the pomp and circumstance of the entire enterprise: the music hall, the visuals, the performers, the audience, etc. I have two recordings here, the first is a straight take of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence coming out of your monitor speakers. The second is a recording of a performance, where you will hear the aforementioned sonic bits Cage was ostensibly aiming for. I’d consider listening to that first. Then listen to the dead silent version…. where you (if you haven’t fallen asleep, started foaming at the mouth, or simply unfriended me) will have your own personal experience of his intention, as you notice the humming sound of your computer, the muffled sounds of the people next door, a car going by, maybe a siren, an aircraft etc. Or like me, tinnitus. For a just few minutes of silence, the entire affair had a pretty big impact on modern music, likely spawning genres including ambient and noise. There is an enormous amount of fun and interesting subsequent history associated with this piece, including a plagiarism lawsuit against a musician who released a one minute version, a 2010 Christmas Facebook campaign to make 4’33” go to number one to make December 25th a ‘Silent Night’(!), a version performed by a cat, and a multitude of performances and recordings, including an absolutely epic collection of over 50 versions put out by Mute Records (coincidence? I think not) titled ‘STUMM433’ and including artists ranging from Moby, Wire, Einsturzende Neubaten, Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, and the Afghan Whigs. That is a remarkable undertaking, besting Kramer’s Rutles compilation album ‘Rutles Highway Revisited’. Just as we look back at those who made those absurdly huge pyramids to entomb just one guy, in a 100 years they will look back in awe and wonder at this collection of over 50 versions of (almost) silence, clocking in at just over 4 hours. Interestingly, years ago I did a conceptual piece related to Cage’s work, which consisted of photographing a friend’s wedding with no film in the camera, a bold and daring artistic act which remains extraordinarily under-appreciated to this very day.
Bonus Points - Live Version 1
More Bonus Points - STUMM433 on Spotify