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

[Jerry Gordon]

You're just jealous because it was me who didn't play the washboard, and
not you.

Jerry Gordon, Troy, NY - Web master for
http://timesunion.com/communities/jazz




On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 00:40:23 +0000 "Bill Gunter" <jazzboard at hotmail.com>
writes:
> 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