thoughts

miles really ruins his early 60's gigs with coltrane, stitt, mobley, and george coleman. of course, you're not allowed to say that.

the house just voted for 96 billion in additional war funding. remember the excitement over the democratic majorities in the house and senate, as well as a democratic president. tell it to the bombed.

not to go after miles again, but i often can't stand his live playing. too many mistakes, not enough chops. for sure, he was a studio guy. knew how to get it just right, but i don't think he's a monster improvisor, and since this is jazz we are talking about, that works against him big time. right now, i'm listening to this thing he did with stitt shortly after trane left the group. god, he sounds awful. cracked note after cracked note, and mushy speed. stitt kills him, as does his trio, but when you are the leader, you get credit for your group. hey, don't get me wrong, i dig miles. yes, kind of blue is an essential, as are several other things he did, but as time went on, his name carried him. people stopped trusting their ears, and started bull sucking him. "oh, if it's miles, it must be good." i hate that shit. it should come down to how good something is, and not who is doing it. you would think that the obscure dudes, many of whom could blow rings around miles, would have been bitter, but in fact, it was miles who was the bitter one. well, here's to louis smith and benny bailey, who are somewhere in heaven, having their laundry done by miles davis.

so, some torture photos have come out. it ain't pretty folks. fascist is not too strong a word. and yet, within our own minds, we remain perpetually innocent. just a few bad apples, or maybe it was all just stress. hey, support our boys. they are doing the best they can. for sure, these words have been spoken elsewhere, by far away lands we care not to be compared to. the fact is, torture is systemic in our society, as is war. it is not a matter of who wrote what memo, or what party is in power, or of bad apples. rather, it the fruit we harvest. all the apples are bad, for our actions are evil. you can not do an evil thing decently. you can't invade and bomb, and avoid war crimes, for invading and bombing is a war crime. in fact, it is the war crime, for it leads to all the other war crimes.

so, show all the pictures. each one gives a little hint to the totality of evil we collectively practice against the world. perhaps one day, we will be shamed by what we see.

perhaps.