The Answers [101 Questions and Answers re John Cage] [Participants: Glenn Freeman, James, John G. Prokop, Josh Ronsen, Perry Townsend, Todd Elliott, Lama Kunga Gyaltsen, Jann Pasler] 18) I don't think he ever thought to combine the two; it would make the music about him rather than about sounds. 96) usually not 54) yes 47) It depends on the question. 48) I maintain that he disliked neither; and am prepared to back that up with lengthy quotes, if pressed. 30) I believe so. 46) People sounds. 2) no 14) mathematics 15) what is a word-laundromat? 8) have no idea. 10) nothing comes from nothing. 11) too many words. 42) no - he was the first post-modern composer. 15) Cage is a word deli-slicer, with extra pickles. 17) Hard to say. 52) I did not know he ever started it. 47) Cage preferred the answers without any questions. 49) No. 60) I think the score specifies it is for any instrument. 18) we cant say it doesnt 72) john cage knows. 75) nothing happened. 76) john cage knows. 36) john cage knows. 21) I don't think so. He has written that he tested them on himself. 22) No. 23) Usually. 32) Cage liked tape recorders better. 33) Cage liked Thoreau better. 77) john cage knows. 55) no 48) Cage preferred the digital jukeboxes set on random play. 56) because this is a deliberate choice - so why go on to resolve it? 57) yes 88) get thee to a nunnery. 88) of course they are 89) probly 90) we don't need any more of that than we already have, & sure as hell don't need John Cage doing it 91) oh yeah. 92) when needed, sure. 93) That's a really, REALLY, good question. I'd like to say yes, but not entirely sure. This deeply disturbs me. 94) both 95) Ask Merce Cunningham. 101) they're not really trying. I would almost think that if one answers even any of these questions that the nature (Buddhist, vegitarian, human, absurd) would be lost... (Q: Does a dog have Buddhist nature?) 29) They can be meaningful depending on the meaning we place in them. 30) Yes. 90) Because his work was not daily life. 101) is it? 10) Cage wrote 4'33" - is true and not dependent on Webern or Satie. 4'33" would have been written without the existence of Cage.11. Cages sound universe was infinite - so predictable sounds form an infinitely small fraction of the total - so he assumed this to be zero. This is a pragmatic and realistically un-biased approach - unlike Zorn's. 13) no 15) no 7) I've no idea - i doubt it. 76) yis! 31) I don't think Cage would want to be without music or company. Who would want to be without either? 81) I think he was overly familiar with them. 95) John framework did such as low level consciousness more than half density and imagelessness. 82) No, I don't listen to it at all. 36) Muffled dialogs about spectacular car crashes would be best (thank you Seth Tisue!) 24) Yes. 25) Yes. 26) The quiet ones (like the sounds of ants walking on grass). 34) Cage did not like toxic clouds at all. 6) there is no such thing as nothingness ... however, there is dependent arising or emptiness. 5) have never read it. 3) sounds are sounds, unless one hears beethoven. 7) have no idea. 9) did he? 4) "revolution is great, something to watch on tele" Balanescu 14) beauty on the floor. 13) dancing has nothing to do with eating habits. 32) Science and tape recorders are the same thing. 72) Eight times. 77) Only in translation; he would have hated the original language. 78) I'd go with unhappy. 68) john cage knows. 60) For any instrument, or group of instruments, including the human voice. I prefer the versions for the human voice the best. 61) Irritation makes pearls. 98) Everyone should pay taxes, or no one should pay taxes. I am not sure which. 16) john cage knows. 17) john cage knows. 19) is anyone's work really important? 20) john cage knows. 22) music needs nothing. 24) what is good? 35) Yes, but often he preferred listening to traffic better than toxic clouds. 37) He hated alliteration more than both of these things. 40) I ususally listen when I don't have company. 39) I'll answer with a poem : X. 45) I think it would lead to competetion. 41) Usually, we're ignoring it at the same time we experience it. Shopping. 44) No; but I find the sound of potatoes intriguing. 27) is anything tolerable? 28) john cage knows. 65) Derrida is not Zen. 38) john cage knows. 29) sounds have no meaning. 30) john cage knows. 94) this is up to you to decide. 95) john cage knows. 96) depends on what is on those mp3 files. 53) john cage knows. 54) john cage knows. 101) its is not. 83) Absolutely. 55) no 56) actually, he wrote several. one was 4'33" (in some performances) 57) no, but it is a start. 59) john cage knows. 64) I don't think it's difficult to practice; but it may be impossible to achieve. 66) These Zen questions all have a similar answer: Merlau-Ponty is Zen. 67) Sure; but he disliked e-mail more than both. 68) It depends on whether or not he closed the windows. 69) This is a much better question than the forty third one. 70) Yes; but he did have a casette player. 50) no, it likes it. 57) yes. 59) he probly would've welcomed approaching Hegel from a Zen standpoint. 64) jury's still out on the contradiction, but yes to the last part 67) not gonna go there 68) there either 53) No, he lived Arthur Godfrey's. And Eleanor Roosevelt lived his. Which means he was actually married to FDR, which isn't as frightening as meets the eye. [Caveat: if this is true, who was the real lesbian?] 98) i don't see the usefulness of such questions. 50) Ive never cooked a pumpkin but would say a grace over it if I did. 51) 1 (one) 69) nein, danke! 60) any or many 52) ? 53) yes 62) get paid quite allot for doing nothing. 12) I think Cage acknowledged his influences, and, in the case of cheap imitation, directly copied them; in others, he was nearly without precedent. But all of them sound like Cage. 13) It will, but it will also contain fewer proteins. 14) The truth. 15) No; I tend to think of him only as a composer. 94) They can be musical, but only after they are done. 60) look at the score 96) No, I feel they destroy intent. 46) all of them. 97) Before he bought one of his own, for certain. 44) yes 74) I think everyone should have a monthly income. 99) 18th Century music. I couldn't resist. 43) Only as it relates to language. 47) john cage knows. 48) john cage knows. 17) Beats me; he didn't seem to discuss sex a whole lot, but that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy a good fuck. 49) john cage knows. 16) Probably, but he would have desired it without compromise. 21) I doubt it; he seemed good at identifying them on his own. 61) bad for whom? 18) Because it doesn't. 19) Yes, both in terms of it's impact on music as a whole, and personally. 20) I would imagine that he enjoyed the company it brought him; my impression is that he liked people a great deal. 31) john cage knows. 25) music has no emotion, people do. 58) john cage knows. 87) He weighed each one equally. 26) john cage knows. 32) john cage knows. 23) ears need sound. 50) I have no pumpkin and I would not ever cook one. 33) john cage knows. 44) no 34) john cage knows. 41) only we know. 46) the ones which come and go. 42) what does father mean? 35) john cage knows. 39) john cage knows. 40) no 43) the two have no existence on their own, but together they project a certain reality. 51) How many passports did John Cage have in reality? 45) yes 37) john cage knows. 75) It is there. I fuck up playing Cage's music all the time. 70) john cage knows. 76) Again, this is a better question than the forthy third one. 49) probably 66) not at all. Would you rather be you or John Cage? 63) what is a spiritual supermarket? 69) no 74) what other increments are there? 71) yes 99) Dittersdorf 100) I hope not. 10) I think it is only true that Cage wrote 4'33". It is not true that he did not write it. 4'33" would still exist without the work of Anton Webern and Erik Satie. 12) His goal was to always experience new sound sensations. 84) The kind with stems. 88) I do not. 13) No, but "energy" is not the most important thing. 19) More important than Schoenberg, Webern, Boulez, Babbitt, Carter combined. 20) I think he liked it. 91) Everything execept waxed paper. That changed the way we made music. 50) no 51) Exactly. 52) Emma Goldman didn't submit to chance operations. 82) no 1) yes 86) no 87) john cage knows. 2) no 3) Beethoven is sound. 85) they are playing at the same time. 9) because they are no longer his... 90) actually, he did not refuse making statements in his work. 91) no, but it changed the medium of delivery. 23) no 88) no 6) nothingness is nothingness, in art its a case of saying "here is a hole." 8) no 24) yes 25) yes 89) john cage knows. 4) we no longer have a society 5) yes 26) the next one 16) he can be no more famous than he is, popularity aside. 17) I dont know 93) if it was worth listening to. 71) No, I think we will see the results of the experiments. 99) john cage knows. 100) yes and no. the john cage work or silence itself? 83) yip. Carmina Burana, to name just the 1st example that pops to mind 86) Well since you insist on pushing this idea, I only have one CD player, but I have done multiple listening in other ways - CD plus radio plus computer file, etc... 28) His career. 36) I think he weighed them equally. 98) Only in California. 92) A very melodic one. 16) No, he complained about being too popular and having his work interrupted. 93) If I could. 19) yes 39) like is not a concept that allows comparisons. You might like sex more than a glass of water but in the desert a glass of water would be more pleasurable than masturbating. 40) no 45) ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha - the music industry - is about making money not music. 78) a list of happy things. 79) no 80) no 81) and which laws are those? 18) sex plays a role in everyone's work. 92) john cage knows. 83) yes, a metaphor can be created for anything. the question is, who decides that? 84) john cage knows. 41) recognition - "this is a musical experience" 47) I would think so 43) they are one and the same - how could you prove otherwise? 46) ambient sounds of living. 59) of course he re-interpreted hegel - he finished the history of music. 60) (no answer) 48) see above 58) ? 61) yes - eventually 63) definitely 64) no I dont. 20) probably - its good to get some credit where its due. 21) I dont know - but doubt it, a friend of mine's dog ate magic mushrooms with no effect. 22) of course not. 34) (no answer) 35) (no answer) 36) (no answer) 37) (no answer) 38) (no answer) 65) no - he practised what derrida preached. 67) no idea 68) no idea 69) no i dont agree 57) It's more appropriate than "I don't care what happens next". 73) Only when not driving. 79) I think you know the answer to this question. Why do you even ask it. 80) Nope. 77) no - its not a very good book 78) the second choice is a contradiction. 83) no 79) yes 101) They are busy waiting for their turn to speak. 80) no 27) they are a necessary evil 28) there is no future for music - that was cage's achievement. 29) Would a lions roar in the jungle at night mean anything to you? 30) they are different forms of pleasure. 31) see question 30 32) (no answer) 33) (no answer) 72) yes 74) if he has a job. 75) it disappeared 76) no idea 73) no 91) no 81) yes 85) you cant here two sounds at the same time - thats an illusion. 86) no 87) no, to both 98) computers do not compose music - when they do they will probably pay taxes if their income is sufficient. 89) yes 82) no 90) politics reflects daily life - cage was not an imitator. 92) yes - a very good one at that. 84) blueits i think 1) Yes, or at least it is enlightening to my Western mind. 3) Just sounds. 4) No, society is still very structured along typical capitalistic lines. 12) Some of his works are Reichian. 9) He did not want to hear the same thing twice. 53) As much as I do mine. 74) If it comes from the music. 12) Cage knew what he thought. 6) Yes. 7) I do not know. I would say not, only because I don't recall him mentioning that book. 8) It could, but I don't think so. 14) A little sweeping to do. 93) yes 94) give me a non musical noise and I'll call it my second symphony. 95) yes 96) I hate them 1) it is john cage's view. 97) doubt it. 85) I hope so. 100) No, but there is a copyright on the recording of silence. 86) No, but I do mix his music with a recording of rain. 89) It depends on what music they made. 70) yes 71) its already dead. 99) John Cage couldn't live in the 18th century 100) no 2) No, but various ensemble versions numerous times. 5) Yes. 11) I don't think Cage ever wanted his music to produce a trance effect in anybody. He wrote that music was to "sober the mind." 28) No, his artistic drive. 35) Cage would prefer the circus. 27) Depends on the systems. 37) The menus. 38) Cage dreamed of eating a de Kooning painting. 39) Cage put one in each pocket and forgot about them. 40) No. I listen to it when I want to. 87) Answer which questions. 88) I have never thought about that before. 89) It would depend what they were playing. 29) yes 42) no, but he was probably one of the illegitimate sons 33) no 23) Do fish need bicycles? 11) Most likely. I don't think he wanted people to "zone out" or to think that's what his music was for. 34) No, but he did like catsup better than steak. 10) I am not overly familiar with Webern; I'm not sure that 4'33" is a logical extension of Satie's work. 11) Perhaps. If this is the case, it's a failure; I find myself entranced by a few of his works, notably fifty eight. 20) maybe, but not too much 28) I think so. (definitely mine) 27) of course 34) if I told you I'd have to kill you. 70) not sure, but if he did they probably had plants growing all over them 71) duh, of course 72) probly 35) mephisto! mephisto! das Wasser ist blut... [Wozzeck/Moses] 36) probly liked them equally 32) probly a draw 41) some sort - any sort - of transformation, of raising our consciousness above the here & now 37) no but he liked married menus more than multilingual men. 45) yes. 49) probly not as much as people like to think 61) yes, and vice versa 62) a radically new and actually worthwhile reason to enjoy your multi-measure rests 63) no 22) Yes, but it doesn't need any more ears than the person creating it. 23) I believe they do. 64) no 66) what is a zen misunderstanding? 44) I did once. 45) Yes it would! Make it a lot better. 22) Do trees need forests? 14) ....truth? 15) Words certainly seem fresher & cleaner once he's gotten ahold of them. ;-) 16) No. 3) sounds are just sounds - where the dividing line falls between sounds & Beethoven is harder to say. 97) No. 6) No; but I think nothingess is a statement about nothingness. 7) I really don't have a clue. 67) john cage knows. 41) The focus of attention. Something involving sound or the conception of sound. 42) I disagree. 43) It is hard to be both places at once to compareÉ 58) A sparse one, with lengthy periods of silence. 8) Most likely; I think Cage was influenced by most things he came across. 9) The predicatability of the medium. 24) In certain cases, yes. 25) Sure, but it depends on your state of mind when you listen to it. 26) Those which occur during silence. 33) Nope. 38) It depends; what was being served. 27) What are the alternatives? 55) no, I just think he viewed sexuality as distracting to spirituality & art. 56) Perhaps he thought it had already been done! 56) Throbbing Gristle beat him to it. 87) neither. 1) No. But I do think that at the time it was unique. 55) I do not agree; Cage's music is simply free of sexuality. 46) The sound of people blabbering. 42) Absolutely. This is the best question I have seen so far. More of a statement, than a question, really. 82) Is Shonen Knife Oriental music? 83) Yes. ("oops I did it again" quote my wife) 92) Yes. 93) Could I eat? 85) No. 86) No, but it sounds like a good idea! 73) He certainly might have. 75) Cage often commented on "wrong" performances of his music. 65) john cage knows 78) The happy list for me. 73) john cage knows. 97) yes. Then again Brahms thought Mahler was crazy, so maybe that's just my ego wishing... 24) I think the reverse may be true more often. 26) I recall once when walking with him during light rain, he stopped our conversation right in its tracks when we got under a metal awning. He wanted to digest the sound of rain hitting the awning, and wished aloud that he could record the sound for future use. 19) no, and so, therefore, yes. 4) No; the technology revolution comes with increased monitoringÑyou can't be very anarchic when being watched. 82) I'm going to pretend i didn't read that. 63) No! 51) He had a passport to be himself. 65) I disagree. Are you trying to start a fight with me? 53) He was too busy to hire someone to do it for him. 29) All sounds are meaningful. 54) Cage liked Zen more. 55) I disagree without reading a detailed argument. 56) Cage never ruled out the possibility of using those sounds in certain works, like 4'33", the Variations series, 33 1/3. 57) Yes. 58) It would be very Cage-ian! 59) I think "classical" philosophy left Cage cold and he was not interested in it, regardless of his attitudes about Zen. 61) Show me a good president and maybe I can answer that. 62) Philharmonic orchestras are too scared of silence and Cage to use them. 64) I disagree. 66) No! 76) Viva Variety! 67) I think he liked Bach better. 68) Cage liked an open window to hear what was outside. 69) Not in those terms. 77) Only if Gertude Stein read it. 70) It was said that he did not own a record player. 71) If the rest of us do, yes. 81) He knew the laws of gravity! 72) I don't think so. 84) The yummy kind. 80) No regularly. I do have a piece I made using fragments from a Cage lecture collaged with bits from a Luigi Nono piece for violin. Contact jpronsen@flash.net if you are interested. It is a rather nice piece. 79) No. 94) It depends on who is speaking them and what is being spoken. 90) He was trying to be an anarchist. 91) They helped develop it. 99) Royal music. 12) yes. 4) anarchic? No, I think "blindly opportunistic" is a more accuratephrase. "Anarchic" I would reserve for truly creative technology breakthroughs like the early analogue electronic works of Varese & Stockhausen. 100) No. 5) yesss 101) They have problems with their attention. 1) yes but i don't think he thought of it that way. 2) not yet... 98) If other people taxes, then so should he. 5) In parts. 38) Yes, unless macrobiotic mushrooms were involved. 39) The answer is "42". 43) only when there has to be 40) uh, no. 47) I think so. 2) No, but I have listened to a version for three flutes. 3) They are sounds. They can be arranged in a pleasing manner; I won't begin to argue what that is. 48) Maybe, but he probably liked hydrogen jukeboxes, esp. those having to do with Allan Ginsburg. 73) dunno, but he probly would've liked the idea of it. Then again he probably didn't have a car. 74) ideally, no 75) never existed in the 1st place 85) for me they are 79) snorkel. 80) no but maybe now I will 21) john cage knows. 6) yes 9) they unduly fix your attention on only one possible execution of the piece. 10) he might've still thought of it but certainly they helped a lot! 97) Mozart knows. 25) YESSSSS! 17) Probably. 18) it's DISTRACTING! 95) This would be a question for Joseph Zitt. 96) No. 13) probly more so. 31) I believe so. 54) It's an obvious answer: Chess and Zen are the same thing. 62) It means the triangle player isn't the only person who can relax for longer periods during performances. 63) Yes, but he didn't force them to shop. 54) My guess would be he liked them equally. 49) Nope. 50) No, but I apologize for my poor carving job. 62) the same 59) Another obvioius answer. Hegel is Zen. © 2001/2004 by Raph Lichtensteiger and George Koehler