From Lukas Bergstrom Sent Mon, Aug 23rd 1999, 22:08
From Lukas Bergstrom Sent Mon, Aug 23rd 1999, 22:08
> >I think Cage was probably the most important experimentalist ever. BUT
his
> >aesthetic system ("all sound--intentional or not--is musical") isa pretty
> lame one, >imo. To be sure, all sounds can be considered artistically.
But
> I think "music" has >to be reserved for something separate from the
buzzing
> noise of the computer >terminal I sit in front of. If noise is music,
then
> everything is music (everything is >intrinsically noisy), and music, as an
> art form, loses its virtue.
Brian Eno once did a field recording of some street corner...15 minutes (I
think) of car doors slamming, people walking by, etc. He then listened to
it constantly over the next week until he had it memorized. At that point,
it sounded like music to him -- the entire 15 minutes seemed to be some kind
of composition.
Or maybe he was just spouting off. In any case, my favorite ambient music
experiences have been with my windows wide open to get as much street noise
as possible. I'm usually doing something else at the time, so the album
will end and it'll be an hour before I realize I've been appreciating the
sound of my radiator coughing.
An appreciation for sound doesn't devalue art. We listen to different
things for different reasons, and have the capability to enjoy all of them
for what they are.
Lukas