• Hi, I’m Brad Abare

  I'm a make-it-happen guy working with big idea people. I design teams and orchestrate strategy so that great ideas I believe in get done.
  
  I am Jamaica's husband, Foursquare's comm director, Personality's founder, and a catalyst for CFCC.
  
  
• Search for:

• Archives (by category)

  Select Category Abare News Big Ideal Brad Works God, Faith & Spirituality Hot Topic Inspiration Leadership Life’s Journey Media Politics Rant Reading Room Stuff I Like The City Wisdom

• Archives (by month)

  Select Month March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 October 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003

• Recent Comments

  • liz on Ahead of the Curve
  • Ben Eige on Managers, Ministers, Manipulators
  • Joshua Cody on Self-Sacrifice Always Wins
  • abby on Unity to Begin, Not End
  • Bernie on What Business Are You In?

• Subscribe

  Add my RSS feed to your reader.

I don’t remember how or when I became a subscriber to Ode magazine, but it’s been coming to me for the past year or so. Although it’s not my favorite magazine—I notice myself skimming it more than reading it—the July 2008 issue really grabbed my attention. The whole issue was built around the theme of silence. The first two spreads were all white pages with a minimal amount of gorgeous copy that set the tone for the rest of the issue. The last page was a reprint of the musical score by John Cage titled 4′33″.

On August 29, 1952, at a concert hall in Woodstock, New York, pianist David Tudor sat down to play avant-garde American composer John Cage’s creation, 4′33″. The piece requires the performer to sit at the piano for four minutes and 33 seconds without touching a key. “Played” in three movements, 4′33″ is considered one of the most revolutionary compositions of modern times. What audiences hear may be the pianist turning pages of sheet music, someone succumbing to a coughing fit, or—in the case of the 1952 debut—the shuffling sounds of people walking out in disgust. Nonetheless, 4′33″ lives on: in a silent song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and the lyrics of rapper MC Paul Barman, who brags in Excuse Me that he “can rock the mic to ‘Silence’ by John Cage.” In case you want to play it at home, here’s the sheet music. Tacet is Latin for “silence.” —Josey Duncan

I

Tacet

II

Tacet

III

Tacet

My love for magazines began a few years before starting my own magazine 12 years ago. I’ve been a student of the industry ever since. I love to see how they evolve and innovate (or not). This might explain why I have so many subscriptions coming every month!

Comments