the lokey massive

I suppose the thing that really bugs me is all the discussion surrounding the act of selling or owning a work of silence. 4′33” is basically a rebuttal to structured and orchestrated approaches to music. Its a matter of context, and of random happenstance. Any visceral enjoyment of a length of recorded silence in a piece is due to the nature of the environment in which it is reenacted. Its a bloody paradigm shift, the shift towards holistic musical approaches, the recognition that everything is music, even our responses to it.  It’s obviously an important work in and of itself, but the essence of its point demands we allow for derivative and cumulative work. Hanging this guy batt out to dry in the courts for what amounts to a citation is fairly ludicrous. Imagine if einstein had held a patent on the general theory? You can’t expect to retain control over statements about the essential nature of the system.