Monday, May 26, 2008

better they laugh than cry

My friend Paul Cox is doing his dissertation on a 1942 piece by John Cage, so I went trolling for Cage material on the web and found this: John Cage on "What's My Line". When the host of the show says People are going to laugh, Cage responds with something like Better they laugh than cry.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting that. No one would laugh if they shut their eyes and listened to it. I would recommend that your friend try Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony. It has bird scares, thunder machines, and a host of exotic devices. Its also quite grand and thrilling to listen to.....

Amy said...

I was impressed with Cage's quiet confidence and dignity. Nice to hear from you!

Anonymous said...

I miss your movie class! Congrats on your award.....

michael salinger said...

How does one rate the artistic integrity since he was willing to alter his piece in acquiescence to the union dust up? Which also begs the question – who plugged in the tape recorder