I heard Cage talking about silence on a video and something he said struck me and I thought about what he meant and came to a conclusion.
He'd said, in effect, that in today's world silence has become the sound of traffic, or other technological ambiance that we've become accustomed to.
It seems to me that he means total silence is so rare that it has ceased being something that is the absence of sound, and become almost a new experience of sound in and of itself. He'd also said that, to him, music speaks to you with motive.
I think that's what he's trying to express in 4'33. He views silence as music and he's trying to speak to the audience through it.
It's an odd way to make a point, and certainly there are raised eyebrows, but I don't see the whole thing as extraordinary in any regard.
It's a conceptual way to make a point. That's it.
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