--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I read John Cage's book Silence, I…" description: "\"When I read John Cage's book Silence, I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. For me, records were a mode of time travel and geographic travel, inter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/david-grubbs-27090_backwards_when-i-read-john-cage-s-book-silence-i-w_1285272.jpg" --- # When I read John Cage's book Silence, I was growing up in… ![“When I read John Cage's book Silence, I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. For me, records were a mode of time travel and geographic travel, interfacing with a much larger world. So it seemed antiquated and backwards that Cage would be so down on them.” quote by David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/david-grubbs-27090_backwards_when-i-read-john-cage-s-book-silence-i-w_1285272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/david-grubbs-27090_backwards_when-i-read-john-cage-s-book-silence-i-w_1285272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/david-grubbs-27090_backwards_when-i-read-john-cage-s-book-silence-i-w_1285272.jpg) > “When I read John Cage's book Silence, I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. For me, records were a mode of time travel and geographic travel, interfacing with a much larger world. So it seemed antiquated and backwards that Cage would be so down on them.” [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening to records serves as a time‑travel device, connecting listeners to places and eras beyond their own. **In simple terms:** Records are portals to other times and places. Key Takeaway Use music to explore history. Themes memory travel music geography culture Mood nostalgic inquisitive Type cultural educational When to use this quote - museum exhibits - personal playlists - educational curricula Key Concepts nostalgia cultural exchange audio archaeology Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape personal identity? - What role does nostalgia play in listening? A Different Perspective Digital media may replace tactile experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Time travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-travel/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [A prolonged silence ensues. The reason for the silence is our growing interest one for the other. No one is aware of it, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/a-prolonged-silence-ensues-the-reason-for-the-silence-is-our-growing/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [I found myself thinking about the distance between the 60s and today through certain moments. Like the Henry Flynt interview with Ubuweb founder Kenny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/i-found-myself-thinking-about-the-distance-between-the-60s-and-today/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [I recall improvisational drummer and composer Michael Evans telling me a story of someone who had the opportunity to meet Cage and give him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/i-recall-improvisational-drummer-and-composer-michael-evans-telling/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [There's a book of interviews with John Cage by Joan Retallack called Musicage that was finished the summer that he died, in 1992. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/there-s-a-book-of-interviews-with-john-cage-by-joan-retallack-called/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence, but imagining the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-kodaly/we-should-read-music-in-the-same-way-that-an-educated-adult-will-read/) [Zoltan Kodaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-kodaly/) > [reading a good book in silence is like eating chocolate for the rest of your life and never getting fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/reading-a-good-book-in-silence-is-like-eating-chocolate-for-the-rest/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“Dust dances in the light like tiny ghosts of stories. I open a yellowed page— your handwriting from another lifetime. The shopkeeper pretends not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/dust-dances-in-the-light-like-tiny-ghosts-of-stories-i-open-a/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“The only life that matters is in your mind. The only truth is the one that live invisibly, that waits even after you close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/the-only-life-that-matters-is-in-your-mind-the-only-truth-is-the-one/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space. If you can bend space you can bend time also, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/time-is-not-a-line-but-a-dimension-like-the-dimensions-of-space-if/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Records have always been the most extraordinary form of time travel for me, and that's why it matters to know when something was circulated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/records-have-always-been-the-most-extraordinary-form-of-time-travel/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [“Marietta, I do not believe in ghosts, astrology, palmistry, graphology, John Cage, love or God. I do believe in the moment, in the pleasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/marietta-i-do-not-believe-in-ghosts-astrology-palmistry-graphology/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Parallels between classical and pop are not new. The whole San Francisco movement of John Cage and Terry Riley went hand in glove with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hazlewood/parallels-between-classical-and-pop-are-not-new-the-whole-san/) [Charles Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hazlewood/) > [I grew up mostly in Champaign, Illinois. My dad was at the University of East Illinois, so I was always around the music. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hamm/i-grew-up-mostly-in-champaign-illinois-my-dad-was-at-the-university/) Stuart Hamm > [“Ideas are one thing and what happens is another.’ (John Cage)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheppard/ideas-are-one-thing-and-what-happens-is-another-john-cage/) David Sheppard > ['Untitled' is a time machine that can transport you to 1992, an edgy moment when the art world was crumbling, money was scarce, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/untitled-is-a-time-machine-that-can-transport-you-to-1992-an-edgy/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## More by David Grubbs > [My experience that undergirds that observation comes from punk, where people might have scraped together the money to be in the studio for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/my-experience-that-undergirds-that-observation-comes-from-punk-where/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [I recall improvisational drummer and composer Michael Evans telling me a story of someone who had the opportunity to meet Cage and give him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/i-recall-improvisational-drummer-and-composer-michael-evans-telling/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [For me, it's good to have those dissimilar modes of songwriting sit side-by-side on a record, because they yield such different results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/for-me-it-s-good-to-have-those-dissimilar-modes-of-songwriting-sit/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [The danger of these collaborations across disciplines is in having too strict of a division of labor - in my case, of getting stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-danger-of-these-collaborations-across-disciplines-is-in-having/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [What a strange thing - that musicians grant permission to places like Ubuweb, and then because it's free, it'll probably be listened to more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/what-a-strange-thing-that-musicians-grant-permission-to-places-like/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [If the records that I make have one thing in common, it's that there is little recapitulation, and the idea is that it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/if-the-records-that-i-make-have-one-thing-in-common-it-s-that-there/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [In eighteenth-century England, there was a practice of hiring a picturesque hermit who would inhabit the beautiful ruin on your estate. To me it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/in-eighteenth-century-england-there-was-a-practice-of-hiring-a/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [The word 'archive' seems so reassuring, but I have a lot ofconcern over the longevity of documentary materials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-word-archive-seems-so-reassuring-but-i-have-a-lot-ofconcern-over/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [I don't write poetry for the page because my inclination in that area is satisfied by songwriting. "Ornamental Hermit" was a comparatively effortless song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/i-don-t-write-poetry-for-the-page-because-my-inclination-in-that-area/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [The instrumental pieces are compositions, certainly, although that's not the language that I instinctively use. They're not scored, and arrangements are often arrived at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-instrumental-pieces-are-compositions-certainly-although-that-s/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [The word "archive" seems so reassuring, but I'm not sure about these things that are now being called archives. Is anything lost by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-word-archive-seems-so-reassuring-but-i-m-not-sure-about-these/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [As there are more online archives of improvised music, it becomes more like the daily practice of playing it. It lessens the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/as-there-are-more-online-archives-of-improvised-music-it-becomes-more/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [Chance in music doesn't have to involve the I Ching or rolling dice or throwing yarrow stalks. It can involve an out-of-tune guitar, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/chance-in-music-doesn-t-have-to-involve-the-i-ching-or-rolling-dice/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [Otherwise the history just gets completely flattened out, and people imagine that everything was always available and accessible. One of the things that struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/otherwise-the-history-just-gets-completely-flattened-out-and-people/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) > [Records have always been the most extraordinary form of time travel for me, and that's why it matters to know when something was circulated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/records-have-always-been-the-most-extraordinary-form-of-time-travel/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) [Explore all 21 David Grubbs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) ## More Backwards quotes > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. We tend to modulate the degree with which we're forgiving or punitive depending on how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/we-have-different-expectations-for-different-groups-of-people-we-tend/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [You know what, if you play 'She Looks So Perfect' backwards... you just listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hemmings/you-know-what-if-you-play-she-looks-so-perfect-backwards-you-just/) [Luke Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hemmings/) > [Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/nursing-is-a-progressive-art-such-that-to-stand-still-is-to-go/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [“Just like backing out of the driveway… If the driveway was ten miles long, full of rocks and pits, with lethal radiation hovering above,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-thorman/just-like-backing-out-of-the-driveway-if-the-driveway-was-ten-miles/) [Daniel Thorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-thorman/) > [We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I read John Cage's book Silence, I was growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. For me, records were a mode of time travel and geographic travel, interfacing with a much larger world. 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