[Dixielandjazz] The 100 most important American Songs of the20th Century

[Bill Gunter]

Listmates,

I too accessed the list of 100 songs on NPR and found it . . . well . . . 
interesting.

Of course we all read these things with our own tastes in mind and we 
evaluate each selection with whether or not we feel it is or isn't "worthy" 
of inclusion.

But then there is at least one selection in any such list that gives me 
pause or causes me to giggle till I nearly wet my pants!  The NPR 100 is no 
exception.

Cruising down the list I came upon 4'33" by that amazing composer of 
contemporary music, John Cage.

Of course we all know that 4'33" is not about music . . . it's about 
listening !

Try to get this concept straight (It's not that difficult):

1. music is what we listen to and it's made up of physical sound waves.
2. listening is what we do in order to convert those sound waves into 
something meaningful.

You can "measure" and "quantify" music
You can't "measure" and "quantify" listening

The NPR tunes had a "listen" button you could click on. I thought it would 
be kind of funny to "listen" to this composition wherein the musician does 
nothing.  But when I clicked on the "listen" icon I got a slab of verbiage 
from a commentator explaining why this composition was such a seminal moment 
in the history of music.

It is basically spoken by a guy who is in love with the sound of his own 
prose.

And may I offer a final observation on 4'33:"

It is either funny or it is shit depending on your mood at the moment. It is 
NOT music and if you think it is you need a reality check.  No amount of 
pretension and cerebrating can elevate the absurd to the profound.

Comments?

Bill "Gimme a break" Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com