is silence sound?

Oh humanities and the INSANE assignments it gives me..

Below is the video link of the song, 4'33 by John Cage that I have to write a 5-8 page response paper to.. Please watch it.. But not all of it. Cause then you'd be mad at me for making you watch the most pointless "musical performance" of your life, then you'll stop reading my blog, and I will cry.

WARNING: Bo-ring. Vid-eo. Just watch enough to get a feel for it.. Then read on..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypmW4Yd7SY

(i guess you can just copy and paste this ^^^ in your little search bar thing?)

For those of you who did not bother to watch that video.. It is a man who sits at the piano in a fancy suit on a pretty stage in front of a huge audience. Thats all. Like really. He just sits there and occasionally turns sheet music with NO notes on it. He does this for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. It is, in fact, as boring as it sounds.

WHAT?! How am I supposed to respond to that?! Did you notice he isn't doing squat? He is sitting there. Turning blank pages. Occasionally looking at a timer. I am sorry, think what you will, but that is not music and my mind is blank as to what to say in response to that.

And guys! This is actually a famous "song" if you will. People pay way too much money and probably travel way too far to watch that. I don't get it. Won't ever.

I'm trying to be open minded but c'mon!!! A monkey could do that!

Please inform me how you write a response to that? Um, stress? Yeah.

Then I was thinking.. What do you say to that piano player, or shall I say, piano sitter, piano starer, or ever weirdee, after he "preforms?"

"Hey man good job sittin' on that bench! That was like wow!!"

"You rocked at turnin' those pages! Can't wait to see you do it again!"

"That was so worth my billions of dollars!"

Or something..

THIS is just ridiculous.