[Bruce Robertson]

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Greetings Fellow Workers, And thanks Brigitte for that synopsis of Rob's book. I'm still going to read it, if for no other reason than to get Bones ideas about the last song. Now that's a good question: What would be the ultimate last Oils song from our scary powderworker point of view? To me the obvious choice would be Forgotten Years. I'm also wondering for those of you who were there, what was the very last song the Oils played live - at that glorious last gig where they worked their way through the catalogue chronologically? Can you post that for us? Thanks! cheers, bruce in calgary

Brigitte Mounier <bmounier@sympatico.ca> wrote:Well I have just finished " Willie's bar and grill "  (a 3 hours easy read) and overall I'm disappointed. But perhaps my expectations were too high.

The book tells about the places they went and gives a ton of anecdotes, political, cultural and others. (which failed to interest me much, although whether that's my fault of the author's, I don't know). So the avalanche of anecdotes and tangentes ends up drowning the main flow of the book. Of course, maybe it will be of interest to Aussies. As for me, I have lived in the States, been to a lot of the cities mentionned, followed the aftermath of 9/11 on American TV channels so it's nothing new, nothing interesting and it rather bores me.
Another crucial fault, which I have seen in an awful lot of travel logs, is the lack of human interest. Reading about places can be very dry. What saves it is the human interest in it. We, as humans, are naturally interested and drawned by other human beings and their story. Although Rob talks a bit about the band, crew and some characters met along the way, he fails to ever brush a complete portrait of anybody. We cannot close the book and say : " Oh, so this is what X is likeŠ " We don't get a feel for anybody, in my opinion, and that leaves us hungry. I noticed the same dryness in " Strict rules ", all about giving information, precious little about the human aspect, the characters and personalities. Perhaps it's an Aussie thing.
I was expecting a funny book and Rob definitely tries his hand at humour. I suppose Rob and I just don't have s similar sense of humor. I laughed at loud several times while reading, but every single time it was at a Bones' quote.As for fans, well, we don't really get a better sense of who the band members are, what they are like or what they are thinking. Perhaps life on the road is really not very eventful, perhaps Rob is more gifted as a songwriter than a author. Where did we see that it explained a bit more about Pete's decision? It doesn't. Not a word.By the way, there's  a sure difference between American and Australian, as languages, which do make the reading a bit more arduous for me.
So that's just my clumsily stated opinion. If some others thought it was brilliant, I'm curious to hear about it, I welcome different point of views.
And I'll bait those who haven't read it : the book ends on Rob wondering what should be the last song they should play if they did a farewell show. Bones answers and that answers is so funny and so typical of him I'm still laughing and it's the perfect ending to the book.
brigitte


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<DIV>Greetings Fellow Workers,</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>And thanks Brigitte for that synopsis of Rob's book. I'm still going to read it, if for no other reason than to get Bones ideas about the last song.</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Now that's a good question: What would be the ultimate last Oils song from our scary powderworker point of view?</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>To me the obvious choice would be Forgotten Years.</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>I'm also wondering for those of you who were there, what was the very last song the Oils played live - at that glorious last gig where they worked their way through the catalogue chronologically? Can you post that for us? Thanks!</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>cheers,</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>bruce in calgary<BR><BR><B><I>Brigitte Mounier &lt;bmounier@sympatico.ca&gt;</I></B> wrote:</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2>Well I have just finished " Willie's bar and grill "&nbsp; (a 3 hours easy read) and overall I'm disappointed. But perhaps my expectations were too high.<BR><BR>The book tells about the places they went and gives a ton of anecdotes, political, cultural and others. (which failed to interest me much, although whether that's my fault of the author's, I don't know). So the avalanche of anecdotes and tangentes ends up drowning the main flow of the book. Of course, maybe it will be of interest to Aussies. As for me, I have lived in the States, been to a lot of the cities mentionned, followed the aftermath of 9/11 on American TV channels so it's nothing new, nothing interesting and it rather bores me.<BR>Another crucial fault, which I have seen in an awful lot of travel logs, is the lack of human interest. Reading about places can be very dry. What saves it is the human interest in it. We, as humans, are naturally interested and drawned by other human beings and their story. Although Rob talks a bit about the band, crew and some characters met along the way, he fails to ever brush a complete portrait of anybody. We cannot close the book and say : " Oh, so this is what X is likeŠ " We don't get a feel for anybody, in my opinion, and that leaves us hungry. I noticed the same dryness in " Strict rules ", all about giving information, precious little about the human aspect, the characters and personalities. Perhaps it's an Aussie thing.<BR>I was expecting a funny book and Rob definitely tries his hand at humour. I suppose Rob and I just don't have s similar sense of humor. I laughed at loud several times while reading, but every single time it was at a Bones' quote.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2>As for fans, well, we don't really get a better sense of who the band members are, what they are like or what they are thinking. Perhaps life on the road is really not very eventful, perhaps Rob is more gifted as a songwriter than a author. Where did we see that it explained a bit more about Pete's decision? It doesn't. Not a word.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2>By the way, there's&nbsp; a sure difference between American and Australian, as languages, which do make the reading a bit more arduous for me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2><BR>So that's just my clumsily stated opinion. If some others thought it was brilliant, I'm curious to hear about it, I welcome different point of views.<BR>And I'll bait those who haven't read it : the book ends on Rob wondering what should be the last song they should play if they did a farewell show. Bones answers and that answers is so funny and so typical of him I'm still laughing and it's the perfect ending to the book.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times color=#000000 size=+2>brigitte</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><p><br><hr size=1>Post your free ad now! <a href="http://ca.personals.yahoo.com/"><b>Yahoo! Canada Personals</b></a><br>
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