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Records ruin the landscape : John Cage, the sixties, and sound recording / David Grubbs.

by Grubbs, David, 1967-

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Duke University Press, 2014.

Cage, John -- Criticism and interpretation.

Improvisation (Music) -- History and criticism.

Avant-garde (Music) -- History and criticism.

Music -- 20th century -- History and criticism.

Sound recordings -- History.

9780822355908 (pbk.)

0822355906 (pbk.)

9780822355762 (hc.)

0822355760 (hc.)

xxv, 220 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Includes discography (pages 195-198), bibliographical references (pages 199--208), and index.

Henry Flynt on the air -- Landscape with Cage -- John Cage, recording artist -- The antiques trade: free improvisation and record culture -- Remove the records from Texas: online resources and impermanent archives.

"John Cage's disdain for records was legendary. He repeatedly spoke of the ways in which recorded music was antithetical to his work. David Grubbs argues that, following Cage, new genres in experimental and avant-garde music in the 1960s were particularly ill suited to be represented in the form of a recording. These activities include indeterminate music, long-duration minimalism, text scores, happenings, live electronic music, free jazz, and free improvisation. How could these proudly evanescent performance practices have been adequately represented on an LP? In their day, few of these works circulated in recorded form. By contrast, contemporary listeners can encounter this music not only through a flood of LP and CD releases of archival recordings but also in even greater volume through Internet file sharing and online resources. Present-day listeners are coming to know that era's experimental music through the recorded artifacts of composers and musicians who largely disavowed recordings. Grubbs surveys a musical landscape marked by altered listening practices. David Grubbs is Associate Professor in the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. As a musician, he has released twelve solo albums and appeared on more than 150 commercially released recordings. Grubbs was a founding member of the groups Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait, and has appeared on recordings by the Red Krayola, Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros, Will Oldham, and Matmos, among other artists. Grubbs has written for The Wire, Bookforum, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung"--Provided by publisher.

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