RE: [microsound] herbs&spice and everything nice and silent

[Nathan Snider <snider@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> So there's an outlet to Cage's silence when restricting the message
> ("meaning" to me) of a gesture to the perceived implications of using
a
> particular communications apparatus. Could you provide a reference to
> Cage's concept of silence being a such a closed system? It would be
great
> if you could tie McLuhan in here too, to cover the "tool is the
message"
> precursor.

I can't really speak to Cage's intentions (or non-intentions, as the
case might be), but in reading this thread it seems to me that "the tool
is the message" might be more accurately phrased as "the message is a
tool."  By this I mean that the music emphasizes the role of the
listener as a user rather than as merely a recipient.  Certainly, this
seems true of 4'33", which Kim cited as a key influence in the CMJ
article where he introduced the sound-bite we're currently discussing.  

I actually find the idea of "no output" quite intriguing.  While it's
impossible to really translate the idea into art formally, the notion of
an entire universe that lives and dies without anyone ever knowing it
existed is very powerful.  For me, one of the most interesting aspects
of "microsound" is that it explores the boundaries of the perceptible.
It creates a kind of limit situation where, by forcing the listener to
listen more carefully, the music reveals something "other," which is a
product of the music, the listener, and the surroundings.  It hints at
potential worlds which lie at the boundaries of our senses.  The "no
output" situation might be considered the extreme case of this, creating
a world unto itself and completely removing it from the sensory sphere.
Of course, at that point, it becomes an entirely intellectual exercise,
with any aesthetic aspects subordinate to the idea.  

-nathansnider