I think the concept of all sounds being music is interesting, and I would have to disagree. I think what makes music distinct from sounds is that music is a sound made from a combination of other sounds, arranged in a way that is pleasing to the ear. Although people vary in taste for genre or tempo, there are some innate things about music that make it music: beat, rhythm, story, etc. This is why edm and opera can both be considered music. Sounds, however, are simply evidence of existence or movement, but they lack the core aspects of music that make it music.
I do think that it's interesting that John Cage was the first composer to suggest that music was an art form, and not simply a music form. This I can agree with, and I think this is where music and sounds overlap. Sounds and music can be (and are) forms of art, but that does not necessarily mean that sounds are music. It is interesting to consider that there was once a time where treating music as art was considered radical.
Another topic I found interesting was how Cage's affinity for silence as a statement was rooted in politics. His idea that "music should exercise a critical function, disturbing rather than comforting the listener," is heavily applicable to politics, and I believe he is one of many to thank for bringing to the surface the idea that music can make a statement, change people's minds, or simply be a vessel for expressing a musician's concerns or beliefs about the world.
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