The best part of reading is that it emits absolutely no sound, except for the occasional subtle rustle of paper. Oh, for the joy of silence. As Publius Syrus murmured in the first century BC, "I have often regretted my speech, but never my silence."
One of the nicest pieces of music I ever heard was composed by John Cage. It's called "4 minutes 33 seconds", and represents that period of silence. At the performance a pianist crosses the stage to the piano, lifts the lid and sits down. He then bows his head for 4 minutes 33 seconds, stands up, drops a curtsy at the audience and walks off.
At one time, John Cage tried to sell his non-cacophonous composition to Muzak Co. which would have been so much better than all that bilious noise they're pumping into every restaurant, hotel, shop, supermarket, lift, railroad station and toilet (probably the only place that's fit for it).
So instead of treating your ear drums like rubbish bins, why not whisper a muffled "Encore!", click on the video and listen for another 4 minutes and 33 seconds to another performance of John Cage's composition?
