Misterioso

New York Times, Sept. 26, 1989 "Chess-Playing Computer Closing In on Champions" by Robert Byrne

Lyrics

At a chess tournament in Long Beach A machine shared first prize recently With a human from a mixed field Of humans and machines

A step forward for machines On the way to checkmate

Among matches that it won Was the one it won against The Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen Ranked the 96th It works in powerful ? machines To move about the kings and queens And all the pieces in between Down to the class of pawns On another occasion it won a match Against Robert Byrne the grandmaster Who is also the chess columnist For the New York Times

Chronology

• Cowws Quintett with Mayo Thompson - Book
  • Mayo Thompson - vocals
  • Rüdiger Carl - accordion, clarinet
  • Jay Oliver - double bass
  • Phil Wachsmann - violin, electronics
  • Stephan Wittwer - electric guitar
  • Irène Schweizer - piano

Retrospectives

Liner notes

Studio, July/Dec 1989

Chess tournament between man and computer, text and voice Mayo Thompson

Interpretations

• The lyrics are based on a New York Times article published September 26, 1989 about the chess computer Deep Thought. The song mentions chess grandmasters Bent Larsen and Robert Byrne, author of the article.
• The music is a 1958 piece titled "Misterioso" by Thelonious Monk