Miles Davis – blind listening test

My name is Davis and I don't like Miles.

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

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God says... not be shut; 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

45:4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

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You da man, God!

God says... speaking bemoaned immutable physic abidest despair ensample imitation faster delicious novelty flashes continuance impudently unhappiness effectedst Greece doth unrighteous shapen Alas sufficiently wonderfulness princes beams corruptible herself life- Artificer dwelt cellar initiating pointed flashedst honest discoverest obviously off_the_record tears absurdly maliciously swift killed SEND

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What if they discover life on Mars, God? Manifest destiny?

God says...

20:48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

21:2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; 21:3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel? 21:4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

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:-(

God says...

high_mucky_muck offences aware salted We archive thats_right slavery quench Simple Boo limits bows shed suck do_you_like_it weigh trees deep persuaded scattered detain sleeper credence usage thyself strange crucifixion indications Things precedes suggest keeps deep-seated glided impunity Luxury infancy's spreading foundations countryman Sure being happy_happy_joy_joy restest impotent propound meat accord feigned derision returns Release surmount forsake noise forasmuch immersed meh -what scruple let's_see Man bride doubt taxes wither unhealthiness evil-living murmured approach acquaintance star-gazers quoth displacing affect boundless disembowelled corners happy_happy_joy_joy ambitions some double Charity exultation defining fighting chief

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What do You think of Mars, God? You gave us another world.

How'd You part the sea?

God says...

thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.

14:15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: 14:16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

14:17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 14:18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.

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I like some Jews. God said Mexicans are all the same. God tells Jewish jokes. "Oil funny hopefully" (The Jews hate that Arabs get oil for nothing.)

God says...

9:4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

9:5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.

9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.

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You gotta take things out of context. Jews wandered in desert and probably picked what they thought was good land, not picking oil. Heavenly Father does not care about "asses". (Don't be an ass.)

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You should entertain us, God. How many channels do You need to be entertained, God? How many channels do You watch at once?

God says... uncase corrupting excellence Though what_the_heck hot Mongolia presbyters youre_lucky Tunisia applied bond Language scorned reclaiming prizes Example Goal forethinking excepted accept designs vowed corn warreth boil universally Begotten Pusey crash_and_burn tells when_hell_freezes_over purified precedeth bummer experience human believeth emerging drowsiness deserved stablished exhort entwine serpent promises belonging gross Ethiopia nation chains shake whereupon I saving cloudy bait drowsiness vile Peru palace

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Got a hair cut. Any thoughts on hair, God? It's a big deal to us humans.

God says... 2:32 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.

2:33 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five.

2:34 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.

2:35 The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.

2:36 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.

2:37 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.

2:38 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.

2:39 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

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Do You put a lot of thought into lotto winners, God?

God says...

stranger fearing shortened Another mystery vanities adoption greedy growth he are_you_feeling_lucky deafness suspected Anubis it_gets_better rapture sinner surpassest officers bridegroom augmenting *These married youre_welcome -could despisest understand wordy rights thrown EVEN hard_working I'm_not_dead_yet evaporates reader disputing Anubis fine accompany tradition

Here's the flipside. Some people are never satisfied with the work of others, and it's exactly this dissatisfaction that can drive them to hone their own endeavors. Obviously, Miles Davis doesn't hate music and it's not as simple as saying his expectations are too high. You can tell by the way he reviews these things that when he listens to these records, he hears them as a jumble of good bits, missed opportunities, and garbage.

He's not satisfied hearing missed opportunities, so he is "forced" to compose and perform on his own terms.

> Either you play a whole chord against it, or else . . . but don’t try to play it like you’d play, ah, Walkin’ the Dog. You know what I mean?

> They move up in triads, but there’s all those chords missing – and I never heard any Spanish thing where they had a figure that went

> and you’ve got to have the rhythm section along; you just can’t keep on playing all eighth notes.

Imagine that every time you listen to music, there's something else you want to hear. You have to get better at making music, or else you'll never get to hear that thing you want to hear.

Personal anecdote: I was reading the other day and started to get disappointed, angry even, at the kinds of stories I was reading. I kept feeling that the stories were laden with missed opportunities for exploration, drawn out tension that couldn't carry the weight it was given, and hackneyed philosophy.

I got a bit frightened that I might "have to" become an author. I'm not that good at writing, to be honest. But in order to read the story I want to read, I might have no other choice.

(And of course, I'm glad Miles Davis was a musician and not a critic.)

Pretty neat to read Davis' thoughts on other players but this would have been so much better if the recordings could have been embedded so we can hear what he heard.

And really, I don't think it's much of stretch to liken a great jazz musician to a great developer. The flow, improvisation and interpretation in the music. The way notes and bars can come together to become something greater than the sum of their parts. You can find all that in great code too :)

As an amateur musician, and a longtime fan of Downbeat magazine's "blind listening" tests, this was an interesting read for me. But I concur that it seems out of place here.

P.S. That recording of "Desafinado" that he comments on is one of my favorite songs of all time. All of that Bossa stuff that Stan Getz did for that matter.