The Beatles were inspired by John Cage!

[Quijote]

Well, Q (please forgive me; earlier I used your real [?] first name, which I think is against the rules here), I have been practising my golf game, managing to hit great balls while avoiding treading on those pesky bunker rakes. Other than that, enjoying all the fruits that life has to offer (and all legal, I hasten to add!). Or, as Frank Sinatra put it, "Living life as I see fit." Also been listening to so many composers but, in the end, Mr. LvB remains The King.

I'm pleased you're doing well, Q. Thanks for the update on Michael. His interesting posts were the reason I joined this site back in the year 2000! Seems like yesterday...

Glad to hear you're enjoying life, PDG (real name: chatbot@Vladdie Putin).

[PDG]

He does, but not so often these days. I'm well, thanks, never been in better health, really. So where have you been and what have you been up to?

Well, Q (please forgive me; earlier I used your real [?] first name, which I think is against the rules here), I have been practising my golf game, managing to hit great balls while avoiding treading on those pesky bunker rakes. Other than that, enjoying all the fruits that life has to offer (and all legal, I hasten to add!). Or, as Frank Sinatra put it, "Living life as I see fit." Also been listening to so many composers but, in the end, Mr. LvB remains The King.

I'm pleased you're doing well, Q. Thanks for the update on Michael. His interesting posts were the reason I joined this site back in the year 2000! Seems like yesterday...

[PDG]

Maybe I'll post my Finals composition piece.

No, please don't. Thank you so much.

[Quijote]

Does Michael still post on this forum?
I hope he's well, along with everyone else. It's been a while (my apologies)...

He does, but not so often these days. I'm well, thanks, never been in better health, really. So where have you been and what have you been up to?

[Quijote]

Careful, Philip!
I don't think you can say any piece of music or art is better or worse than another piece [...].

Maybe I'll post my Finals composition piece.

[Quijote]

Mr PDG!! Nice to see you back !!!

[PDG]

Fair enough. I'll be waiting for Michael to come charging in on this one!

Does Michael still post on this forum?

I hope he's well, along with everyone else. It's been a while (my apologies)...

[PDG]

More Onoian, I'd say...

Yes, Yoko was a huge influence on John, and not just musically. She was truly avant-garde and was a big fan of Cage. The Beatles' song, Because (from Abbey Road), apparently came about after she played Beethoven's Moonlight adagio backwards for John.

[PDG]

The idea of the King Lear overlay on the fade-out of I Am The Walrus was John's, when he heard a live BBC Radio 2 broadcast of the play coming from the corner of the engineer's booth, and casually asked producer George Martin if they could use it on their track. I Am The Walrus owes far more to Lewis Carroll than to John Cage.

[PDG]

I think the avante-garde influence lead to some of their worst music, too - Revolution 9 being the ultimate example.

There is very little avante-garde Beatles music. And they never claimed that Revolution 9 should be regarded as 'music', anyway.

[PDG]

This is along similar lines by John Cage, far superior to his Radio Music and The Beatles' Revolution 9.

Fontana Mix

Careful, Philip!
I don't think you can say any piece of music or art is better or worse than another piece, when the circumstances behind the creation of each is so obviously different. Revolution 9 was a brave move, but is essentially an experiment, and I think it would be a shame to use it as a yardstick for their overall output.

[PDG]

Never been a fan of the Beatles - I'm afraid I'm with Glenn Gould on that one!

Whereas Leonard Bernstein adored their music. Gould's opinion seems to me to have been pure snobbery.

[Chris]

I listened to Revolution 9 after reading your post, Chris. It's totally Cageian, isn't it?

More Onoian, I'd say...

[Quijote]

This is along similar lines by John Cage, far superior to his Radio Music and The Beatles' Revolution 9.

Fontana Mix

[Quijote]

I think the avante-garde influence lead to some of their worst music, too - Revolution 9 being the ultimate example.

I listened to Revolution 9 after reading your post, Chris. It's totally Cageian, isn't it?