Friday, October 23, 2009

Inspiration Hits

From now on, I'm doing things the John Cage way. Who is John Cage, you ask? Well, he was a 20th C composer who is famous for such works as 4' 33", where the performer comes out, sits down, and proceeds to sit in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. Cage also pioneered the experimental composition techniques of flipping coins and drawing things out of hats to see what happens next in the piece. One of his pieces is a continual organ piece written for a small church in Germany. The piece is to last for 100 years, and it consists of someone coming in and pressing a key on the organ every few days. The organ keeps playing that until the next switch.
So basically, John Cage is the Andy Warhol of music, and I am not a fan. At all, really. I have, however, recently decided he was on to something. There are just too many decisions to make each day, and my brain is tired. Thus, I hereby relinquish any responsibility my brain has to make said decisions. From here on out, it's John Cage, baby. Really, I think this could work. For instance, I wake up in the morning: what do I eat? Answer: Open the cupboard, close my eyes, and eat whatever my hands touch first. Another-- where do I go on vacation? Answer: Write "left," "right," and "straight" on 3 pieces of paper. Draw at each intersection and go wherever the fates take you. I've already tested this method several times, mostly with good results. Also, I'm thinking the 4' 33" principle could be applied to many situations: bad dates, boring classes, lessons where I want to appear intimidating.

Yep, it's going to be a whole new world.

4 comments:

Jessica said...

This sounds fantastic! I think Doug and I are going to have to apply this :)

Amy said...

I've heard of him. That's hilarious. I'll go on that vacation with you.

Who Knew . . . said...

Cheers to John Cage!

Mike & Kristy said...

Hilarious ... and insightful! Yes, Cage's music (or lack thereof) is hideous, but I love the approach and the application you have put into effect. Let me know how that works out for ya!