For a while I had a tough time embracing John Cage.  He is studied extensively in music composition courses, and his work is influential in literature, visual arts, and modern art theory so I feel like I know the guy personally (he died in 1992).  Last semester was no exception… I took four courses and we talked about Cage in every one of them.  He starts creeping up on you.  At first you need to hate him, because he stands for the opposite of what you think you’re doing.  But I got tired of what I was doing and realized that a lot of what Cage reacted against was what I was now reacting against in my own work.  It is really difficult for people to let go of their work.  They spend years trying to gain control over a medium and then Cage comes along and tells you to leave it up to forces you have no control over.

For me, writing a piece using Cage’s methods is much like have a kid, raising him for 7 years, then giving him a bow and arrow saying, “come back in 40 years and show me what you’ve become.”  In many cases the kid comes back fully grown, insane, and indisputably amazing, free from the vices and scars of over-parenting.

This is a video of Cage performing “Water Walk” in January, 1960 on the bizarro TV show I’ve Got A Secret.  To get a good idea of what Cage was like, watch the whole thing, or skip to 4′35″ where he starts the piece… let me know what you think. (I wish the quality was a little better)

At the time, Cage was teaching Experimental Composition at New York City’s New School. Eight years beyond 4:33, he was the most controversial figure in the musical world at that time. His first performance on national television was originally scored to include five radios, but a union dispute on the CBS set prevented any of the radios from being plugged in to the wall. Cage gleefully smacks and tosses the radios instead of turning them on and off.

While treating Cage as something of a freak, the show also treats him fairly reverentially, cancelling the regular game show format to allow Cage the chance to perform his entire piece.