[Powderworks] Willie's Bar & Grill
Virgil Thomas Alexander Morant
vmorant@wcoil.com
Mon, 13 Oct 2003 18:14:12 -0400
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The following remark stuck out the most to me in the Willie's thread.
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Mark=20
To: powderworks@cs.colorado.edu=20
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2003 7:54 AM
Subject: Re: [Powderworks] Willie's Bar & Grill
I dunno if I'd call it dirt that were after, but I sure felt that the =
book lacked a bit of depth in terms of Rob's emotional attachment. Rob =
seemed quite emotionally blazay about it all. Sure he gives Jim and =
Martin a bit of praise but I thought he could have expressed his =
emotional appreciation and feelings more. He could have said what it =
felt like to be a member of such a seamless and united band that rose to =
the pinnacle of rock'n roll success, achieving so much and being (were) =
admired by so many from diverse parts of the globe. There was never any =
acknowledgement as to how lucky he felt to have such a great career =
spanning 25 odd years with such a great bunch of guys who had not only =
the power, but the passion as well.
In response to a couple of other remarks, it's not that Hirst should =
have written for an American audience; the problem is how little he =
wrote about the American audience and the band's connection with it. =
This is, after all, a book about an American tour. Yet he spent so much =
time with vague criticisms of G.W. Bush and overbroad generalizations =
about American society and culture, that the book was less about =
Midnight Oil or its tour and much more about Hirst's meandering (albeit =
sometimes amusing) thoughts.
The book ends with Peter Garrett's departure from the band. What indeed =
did all of those years mean, and how does the last tour of North America =
fit into those years? What Midnight Oil accomplished at its best was =
something often seen by fans during its tours and enjoyed over the =
course of many records whose songs are played on tour, and yet Hirst was =
more interested in making fun of his bus driver and making sweeping =
conclusions about American life.
Again, my own favorite remark about my own hometown: "This [Cleveland] =
is a town only a mother could love, what coastal Americans dismiss as =
'fly-over country'" (122). That's just a blanket statement about =
Cleveland, the subject of his statement. It's not a subjective =
observation from an admittedly brief observer of the town who only saw a =
small fraction of it for a couple of days. He just says it flatly. It =
was, as was a lot of the rest of the book, a great, big, bad conclusion, =
stated objectively, about something he knows very little about.
And I didn't want dirt. But, when he slams a city he knows almost =
nothing about, the statement is dirt. Not about his bandmates. Just =
about a town has only spent scant few days in in his entire life, and =
those days during the rigors of a rock and roll tour. Thus it was a =
disappointing book for one interested in Midnight Oil or its touring =
life, and clearly a source of great enjoyment for fans of meandering =
travelogues.
--Virgil.
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<DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">The following remark stuck out the =
most to me=20
in the <EM>Willie's</EM> thread.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3Dmpien@froggy.com.au =
href=3D"mailto:mpien@froggy.com.au">Mark</A> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dpowderworks@cs.colorado.edu=20
=
href=3D"mailto:powderworks@cs.colorado.edu">powderworks@cs.colorado.edu</=
A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 08, =
2003 7:54=20
AM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Powderworks] =
Willie's Bar=20
& Grill</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I dunno if I'd call it dirt that were =
after, but=20
I sure felt that the book lacked a bit of depth in terms of Rob's =
emotional=20
attachment. Rob seemed quite emotionally blazay about it =
all. Sure=20
he gives Jim and Martin a bit of praise but I thought he could have =
expressed=20
his emotional appreciation and feelings more. He could have said =
what it=20
felt like to be a member of such a seamless and united band =
that=20
rose to the pinnacle of rock'n roll success, achieving so much=20
and being (were) admired by so many from diverse parts =
of the=20
globe. There was never any acknowledgement as to how lucky he =
felt to=20
have such a great career spanning 25 odd years with such a great =
bunch of=20
guys who had not only the power, but the passion as=20
well.</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">In response to a couple of =
other=20
remarks, it's not that Hirst should have written <EM>for</EM> an =
American=20
audience; the problem is how little he wrote <EM>about</EM> the American =
audience and the band's connection with it. This is, after all, a =
book=20
about an American tour. Yet he spent so much time with vague =
criticisms of=20
G.W. Bush and overbroad generalizations about American society and =
culture, that=20
the book was less about Midnight Oil or its tour and much more about =
Hirst's=20
meandering (albeit sometimes amusing) thoughts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">The book ends with Peter =
Garrett's=20
departure from the band. What indeed did all of those years mean, =
and how=20
does the last tour of North America fit into those years? What =
Midnight=20
Oil accomplished at its best was something often seen by fans during its =
tours=20
and enjoyed over the course of many records whose songs are played on =
tour, and=20
yet Hirst was more interested in making fun of his bus driver and making =
sweeping conclusions about American life.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Again, my own favorite =
remark about my=20
own hometown: "This [Cleveland] is a town only a mother could love, what =
coastal=20
Americans dismiss as 'fly-over country'" (122). That's just a =
blanket=20
statement about Cleveland, the subject of his statement. It's not =
a=20
subjective observation from an admittedly brief observer of the town who =
only=20
saw a small fraction of it for a couple of days. He just says it=20
flatly. It was, as was a lot of the rest of the book, a great, =
big, bad=20
conclusion, stated objectively, about something he knows very little=20
about.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">And I didn't want =
dirt. But,=20
when he slams a city he knows almost nothing about, the statement is =
dirt. =20
Not about his bandmates. Just about a town has only spent scant =
few days=20
in in his entire life, and those days during the rigors of a rock and =
roll=20
tour. Thus it was a disappointing book for one interested in =
Midnight Oil=20
or its touring life, and clearly a source of great enjoyment for fans of =
meandering travelogues.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr><FONT face=3D"Times New =
Roman">--Virgil.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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