We
think this is a joke, but we're actually more afraid that it's not. San Francisco-based "conceptual artist" Jonathon Keats has generously offered his latest composition, "My Cage," free of charge as a ringtone through mobile multimedia vendor Start Mobile. But wait, there's a catch, it's four minutes and thirty three seconds of pure silence. And it's not the kind of silence
teens can hear, either -- it's actually pure silence. So pure, in fact, that Start Mobile keenly points out that "the silence may take place without the listener being aware of it." While we think it really doesn't serve the intended function of a ringtone in the purest sense of the word, we can't argue with the price: free. Let us know in comments what percentage of calls you manage to answer, mkay?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shoaib @ Jan 7th 2007 1:10PM
100% of calls, since its on both vibrate and ring :D
michael andres @ Jan 7th 2007 1:44PM
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4'33
Josh Smith @ Jan 7th 2007 3:54PM
In all seriousness a silent ringtone is useful to assign to a contact you don't want to talk to, or if a number keeps crank calling your cell late at night. Seriously though why did he make a 4.5 minute ringtone? The most a carrier handles before VM is ~30-35.
Scott A @ Jan 7th 2007 3:55PM
While the length of the tone is extremely long, I can understand a silent ring tone. If you don't want to talk to someone when they call, just assign a silent ring tone to their number.
beanspants1 @ Jan 7th 2007 5:47PM
It's a ripoff of a john cage song called "4:33", which is 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence (yes, really). he probably owes royalties.
Alex @ Jan 7th 2007 8:03PM
Where can I get this ring tone? i would like to try it!
Derek @ Jan 7th 2007 8:50PM
Silent ringtone? That could be the stupidest thing ever.
DaveTehWave @ Jan 7th 2007 9:27PM
"6. Where can I get this ring tone? i would like to try it!"
Did you *read* the article?
"free of charge as a ringtone through mobile multimedia vendor Start Mobile."
Nubs @ Jan 7th 2007 10:05PM
Engadget..........lolz
John Milton Cage (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American experimental music composer, writer and visual artist. He is most widely known for his 1952 composition 4'33", whose three movements are performed without playing a single note.
GET IT?!
Matt @ Jan 8th 2007 12:25AM
This post shows a complete lack of knowledge of who John Cage was as an avant-garde composer and what he stood for. May I suggest the wikipedia article on him - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage - as a starting point?
PEZ @ Jan 8th 2007 2:36PM
FINALLY!
Zach @ Jan 21st 2007 11:29PM
[i]6. Where can I get this ring tone? i would like to try it![/i]
[url=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22my+cage%22+site%3Astartmobile.net&btnG=Search]Bam[/url]! Beat that search result, bitches!
youngchick21 @ Jan 23rd 2007 3:30PM
I used to have a phone where I could assign "no tone" (essentially silence) to any number as there ringtone and I'm telling you it is great. I was never bothered by bill collectors, annoying people, or a**holes for the entire time I had the phone. My new phone doesn't have the option but this guy is a lifesaver!!! Now I can ignore people at will again!!!
batamire @ Jan 26th 2007 7:04PM
does it get any more stupid than this?
has anybody tryed out 'silent' profile?
or maybe ring style: vibrate only?
or just maybe creating an annoying people group for which the phone wouldn't ring at all?
jagooch @ Mar 28th 2008 10:07AM
My Blackberry had a "mute" ringtone for bothersome people. I was getting six calls a day from a telemarketer who didn't care that it was a mobile number. That mute tone really saved the day. Now I have an AT&T Tilt without an option of setting a contact o mute or silent or vibrate, so I have to deal with all of these calls. Hopefully my works Web filter doesn't block my access to this ringtone, b/c I want it now!