It's Okay to Laugh: John Cage Performs Water Walk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSulycqZH-U Speaking of everyone’s favorite Zen Buddhist I-Ching Chance Musician, John Cage, Boing Boing pointed out this excellent clip of a young John Cage performing “Water Walk” on the old 50’s game show, I’ve Got A Secret. Water Walk was written for a number of unusual instruments, including a bathtub, blender, rubber duckie, watering can, […]

Speaking of everyone's favorite Zen Buddhist I-Ching Chance Musician, John Cage, Boing Boing pointed out this excellent clip of a young John Cage performing "Water Walk" on the old 50's game show, I've Got A Secret.

Water Walk was written for a number of unusual instruments, including a bathtub, blender, rubber duckie, watering can, prepared piano, tape recorder, and five radios. Apparently though, a union dispute over who would plug in the radios erupted before show time, so Cage instead hits and throws the radios at the times he was meant to turn them on and off.

Cage's beatific encouragement to his audience for them to laugh is part of what makes this so great: this was a guy who completely believed in what he was doing, but never flinched from his work's inherent ludicrousness.