08-22-2002, 03:28 PM
In June, after the British musical group the Planets introduced a 60-second piece of complete silence on its latest album, representatives of the estate of composer John Cage - whose piece "4'33"" consists of 273 seconds of silence - threatened to sue the group for ripping off Cage (the group, however, noted that the Cage camp had failed to specify which 60 of the 273 seconds it thought had been pilfered). Said Mike Batt of the Planets: "Mine is a much better silent piece. I [am] able to say in one minute what [took Cage] four minutes and 33 seconds."