Tool

depopulationINC

Alex_Coe wrote:

Name three great songs by Tool. I'll go on AOL music or iTunes and listen to them right now.

Sober
Right in Two
H.

yosi1

Alex_Coe wrote:

Name three great songs by Tool. I'll go on AOL music or iTunes and listen to them right now.

I know I'm the third or fourth person to suggest songs but,

Schism
Sober
Forty Six and 2

Arctangent

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

they also take at least 4-5 years to put out new material. i've posted before on here how lame i think that is so i won't bother here.

i would rather a group (not just tool) take 4-5 years and release a masterpiece than chuck out a piece of crap every 14 months or so. give me quality over quantity any day.


and you won't find any tool songs over at the iTunes store, as tool have not licensed their songs for download.

Anon

i don't know man, Laturalus was about half good... some of that stuff towards the end like "Reflection" were horrible. i saw them on that tour and had to sit through those longass songs (and i LOVE long songs) that go nowhere.

i heard most of 10,000 Days and was not impressed. some of those riffs sounded straight out of a Godsmack record, plus i distinctly remember hearing a riff that i'm sure was on AEnima.

somebody posted on here that they don't make money from their records... dude, they sell millions of copies. i'm sure all their records since Undertow are multi-platnium. obviously all bands make their real money on the road.. what w/ $30 tshirts and $40-50 hoodies.. a band the size of Tool can make a killing.. plus if the band has any say on how much to charge for parking-i doubt they do but still, look at all the other ways these bands rip you off, and i know it's not just them but every big band out there.

i thought AEnima was a masterpiece and Laturalus was NOT worth the 6 years i waited. yeah, i know they put out Salival in between but looking back that kind of sucked. Tool annoy me. but if you guys like it, go for it you know.

Jeremy1012

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

i don't know man, Laturalus was about half good... some of that stuff towards the end like "Reflection" were horrible. i saw them on that tour and had to sit through those longass songs (and i LOVE long songs) that go nowhere.

i heard most of 10,000 Days and was not impressed. some of those riffs sounded straight out of a Godsmack record, plus i distinctly remember hearing a riff that i'm sure was on AEnima.

somebody posted on here that they don't make money from their records... dude, they sell millions of copies. i'm sure all their records since Undertow are multi-platnium. obviously all bands make their real money on the road.. what w/ $30 tshirts and $40-50 hoodies.. a band the size of Tool can make a killing.. plus if the band has any say on how much to charge for parking-i doubt they do but still, look at all the other ways these bands rip you off, and i know it's not just them but every big band out there.

i thought AEnima was a masterpiece and Laturalus was NOT worth the 6 years i waited. yeah, i know they put out Salival in between but looking back that kind of sucked. Tool annoy me. but if you guys like it, go for it you know.

I can't for the life of me understand how you don't like Lateralus. sure it has long songs but so did Aenima. eulogy, pushit and Third Eye are all over 9 minutes.

TheGossman

great band, put out 2 great albums, but I just can't get into them, 10,000 days was a HUGE dissapointment, I bought it when I bought PJ, and thought it was just so repetitive and had songs that went on and on and just go NO WHERE! I will admit they are good, I respect them, but I just don't see whats so great about them!

Alex_Coe

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Well then you need to relax and get laid dude

I also think that Tool have great lyrics, are very skillful musicians who can put musical 'pieces' together, but bore the pants off me. A band needs good, distinctive songs. Without that, it's just like improvisational jazz band: unmistakably excellent, but who wants to listen to a whole night of it? Trust me I've tried, improvisational jazz AND Tool.

I can honestly say I've heard a fair bit from Tool, and all I really remember is 'Schizm', because that song defines their sound.

This pretty much sums up Tool as I see it.

TheGossman

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Well then you need to relax and get laid dude

I also think that Tool have great lyrics, are very skillful musicians who can put musical 'pieces' together, but bore the pants off me. A band needs good, distinctive songs. Without that, it's just like improvisational jazz band: unmistakably excellent, but who wants to listen to a whole night of it? Trust me I've tried, improvisational jazz AND Tool.

I can honestly say I've heard a fair bit from Tool, and all I really remember is 'Schizm', because that song defines their sound.

dude you fuckin nailed it! AMEN!

Alex_Coe

On AOL music there is 6 songs: The Pot, Vicarious, Viginti Tres, Right in Two, Intentioned, Rosetta Stoned, and Lost keys. I listened to The Pot, it was okay. The instrumentals were okay but I don't like the singer. Vicarious was sorta samey, but relatively good.

Still, I can't see where this rabid fanbase is coming from.

BetterManningNYG

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

i don't know man, Laturalus was about half good... some of that stuff towards the end like "Reflection" were horrible. i saw them on that tour and had to sit through those longass songs (and i LOVE long songs) that go nowhere.

i heard most of 10,000 Days and was not impressed. some of those riffs sounded straight out of a Godsmack record, plus i distinctly remember hearing a riff that i'm sure was on AEnima.

somebody posted on here that they don't make money from their records... dude, they sell millions of copies. i'm sure all their records since Undertow are multi-platnium. obviously all bands make their real money on the road.. what w/ $30 tshirts and $40-50 hoodies.. a band the size of Tool can make a killing.. plus if the band has any say on how much to charge for parking-i doubt they do but still, look at all the other ways these bands rip you off, and i know it's not just them but every big band out there.

i thought AEnima was a masterpiece and Laturalus was NOT worth the 6 years i waited. yeah, i know they put out Salival in between but looking back that kind of sucked. Tool annoy me. but if you guys like it, go for it you know.

it's not that they don't make ANY money. they make more than enough. but the record label gets a much higher cut than the band does, and it seems like this causes some bitterness in their world. of course, the record label also lets them release whatever they want without objection. so it's a two-way street.

you're absolutely right that almost all bands make their real money on the road, especially since the record label usually doesn't get a cut of the tour earnings. so for tool, touring extensively is their way of "sticking it" to the label.

of course, money has always taken on sort of a weird meaning in the tool world. i never get tired of posting these lyrics:

http://toolshed.down.net/lyrics/aenimalyrics.php#07

it's almost like, "we don't need your money... but FUCK YOU, we got it anyway!" money is the ultimate indicator of status in our society (for better or for worse), and it seems like tool really gets a kick out of taking it away from people through such unconventional means.

speaking of unconventional... lateralus and 10,000 days. i think they're both amazing albums. you obviously feel differently, and that's fine. i think we can all agree that tool's newer material isn't going to appeal to everyone. it's not intended to. lateralus and 10,000 days require MANY listens in order to gain full appreciation, and i guess a lot of people aren't really interested in putting in that kind of time.

but dude... godsmack?!? lol... c'mon... godsmack is one of the most simplistic and derivative bands in the world. tool is one of the most complex and original. sure, adam jones plays a lot of power chords. but i feel that the complexity of his recent riffs is the result of the odd time signatures that he uses more so than the specific chords that he plays. of course, this is all just my opinion.

Binaural

rhcpjam6306 wrote:

maynard on acid ^^^

Wrong.

Binaural

By the way, the Opiate EP is fucking phenomenal

BetterManningNYG

Alex_Coe wrote:

On AOL music there is 6 songs: The Pot, Vicarious, Viginti Tres, Right in Two, Intentioned, Rosetta Stoned, and Lost keys. I listened to The Pot, it was okay. The instrumentals were okay but I don't like the singer. Vicarious was sorta samey, but relatively good.

these are all from the new album. i wouldn't recommend them to a casual fan. they're very complex. right in two is one of my favorite songs, but it might take a few listens to get into it.

if you're still interested, you can find a lot of their older (and more mainstream) songs on the 100 or so fan sites that people have created on myspace.

Alex_Coe wrote:

Still, I can't see where this rabid fanbase is coming from.

that's ok... i don't think the band understands it either...

gossardstradlin

The album Undertow was one of those albums that, I can't put my finger on it, but had a great impact on me musically. Hard to explain but you know when once in a while an album comes around and knocks the shit out of you.

Arctangent

BetterManningNYG wrote:

it's not that they don't make ANY money. they make more than enough. but the record label gets a much higher cut than the band does, and it seems like this causes some bitterness in their world. of course, the record label also lets them release whatever they want without objection. so it's a two-way street.

i really don't believe this. tool took their record company to court in the 90's which was part of the reason for the huge gap between albums. the were released from what was considered to be a restrictive contract but re-negotiated and re-signed with the same label. i can't believe having gone through all that they would have signed another crappy deal. apart from which, the 4 members of tool are now very wealthy guys thanks to money made from records and tours.

boxwine_in_hell

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

i don't know man, Laturalus was about half good... some of that stuff towards the end like "Reflection" were horrible. i saw them on that tour and had to sit through those longass songs (and i LOVE long songs) that go nowhere.

i heard most of 10,000 Days and was not impressed. some of those riffs sounded straight out of a Godsmack record, plus i distinctly remember hearing a riff that i'm sure was on AEnima.

somebody posted on here that they don't make money from their records... dude, they sell millions of copies. i'm sure all their records since Undertow are multi-platnium. obviously all bands make their real money on the road.. what w/ $30 tshirts and $40-50 hoodies.. a band the size of Tool can make a killing.. plus if the band has any say on how much to charge for parking-i doubt they do but still, look at all the other ways these bands rip you off, and i know it's not just them but every big band out there.

i thought AEnima was a masterpiece and Laturalus was NOT worth the 6 years i waited. yeah, i know they put out Salival in between but looking back that kind of sucked. Tool annoy me. but if you guys like it, go for it you know.

You also forgot that a band with any sort of clout will get a percentage of the concessions sold as well. Not bad, escpecially when they're selling $8 beers.

Anon

BetterManningNYG wrote:

it's not that they don't make ANY money. they make more than enough. but the record label gets a much higher cut than the band does, and it seems like this causes some bitterness in their world. of course, the record label also lets them release whatever they want without objection. so it's a two-way street.

you're absolutely right that almost all bands make their real money on the road, especially since the record label usually doesn't get a cut of the tour earnings. so for tool, touring extensively is their way of "sticking it" to the label.

of course, money has always taken on sort of a weird meaning in the tool world. i never get tired of posting these lyrics:

http://toolshed.down.net/lyrics/aenimalyrics.php#07

it's almost like, "we don't need your money... but FUCK YOU, we got it anyway!" money is the ultimate indicator of status in our society (for better or for worse), and it seems like tool really gets a kick out of taking it away from people through such unconventional means.

speaking of unconventional... lateralus and 10,000 days. i think they're both amazing albums. you obviously feel differently, and that's fine. i think we can all agree that tool's newer material isn't going to appeal to everyone. it's not intended to. lateralus and 10,000 days require MANY listens in order to gain full appreciation, and i guess a lot of people aren't really interested in putting in that kind of time.

but dude... godsmack?!? lol... c'mon... godsmack is one of the most simplistic and derivative bands in the world. tool is one of the most complex and original. sure, adam jones plays a lot of power chords. but i feel that the complexity of his recent riffs is the result of the odd time signatures that he uses more so than the specific chords that he plays. of course, this is all just my opinion.

i know how terrible and simple Godsmack is, that's why i was so surprised when i heard some of those riffs on 10,000 Days!

what about all those mini songs or bullshit tracks Tool put on Aenima and Laturalus.. not sure on 10,000 Days.. like "Message To Harry Manback", "(-) Ions, Die Er Von Satan or whatever that is... do any of you guys actually listen to those tracks more than a few times before you skip over them? what's the point of that? you take those tracks away and how many songs are actually on a record? i guess PJ did that w/ "Pry, To", "Aye Davineta" and "Hey Foxymophandlemoma, That's Me".... that was pretty annoying too.

IDgotI

yosi wrote:

I like 'em. Hopefully one of these days I'll get to see them in concert.

Going to see TOOL play live is like visiting the Grand Canyon. I was invited to a show by a friend. Actually he was "returning the favor" because I took him to a Pearl Jam show. I had more of an emotional connection to the PJ show because I know the songs. But the TOOL show was an all out musical assault. They are jaw droppingly tight and poweful.

I still have more of an emotional connection to the PJ's material, and so I prefer them as a band (not that it really matters) but I would say that anyone who enjoys live music should really make an effort to check out TOOL.

They have the most awe inspringly tight rhythm section this side of James Brown. Regardless of how much one does / does not like their material, their musicianship is just staggering and a phenomenal sight to behold when taken in live.

It's like watching Michael Jordan play. Whether you like basketball or not, it was worth catching Michael Jordan sail through the air. Greatness is just inspiring to behold. TOOL live is something to see.

(edit: To be fair I found the "middle section" of their show really dull and "Spinal Tap" like. This is where they dragged out some 10 minute long each mid tempo and down tempo numbers. I didn't / still don't know their albums that well, so these songs meant nothing to me and just dragged. I understand where people are coming from who critique their song writing. This definately isn't a band about verse chorus verse chorus bridge type song structure. But when those guys dig in to play the double time stuff... they are just staggering virtuosos. It might not come across on record, but live it's amazing. When they start laying on the polyrhythms and insane time changes there's not much else to do but drop your jaw and 'Hail Hail')

Arctangent

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

i know how terrible and simple Godsmack is, that's why i was so surprised when i heard some of those riffs on 10,000 Days!

ha! godsmack can dream. never heard such a load of wibble in my life!

Mushmouthmatt wrote:

what about all those mini songs or bullshit tracks Tool put on Aenima and Laturalus.. not sure on 10,000 Days.. like "Message To Harry Manback", "(-) Ions, Die Er Von Satan or whatever that is... do any of you guys actually listen to those tracks more than a few times before you skip over them? what's the point of that? you take those tracks away and how many songs are actually on a record? i guess PJ did that w/ "Pry, To", "Aye Davineta" and "Hey Foxymophandlemoma, That's Me".... that was pretty annoying too.

i listen to them every time i play those albums - the are part of the album, so i play them, in the same way as i don't skip Viginti Tres when i listen to 10,000 days all the way through. what's the point? tool wanted to put them there, that's the point. take away the 5 between-song songs on aenema and you still have 10 songs. i fail to see what how many songs is on an album has to do with whether it any good or not. i have some amazing hour+albums with only 6 or so songs on them. anyone who uses the number of songs on an album as to whether its a good album or not, or whther they will buy it or not is a bit strange. it all boils down to quality over quantity again.

BetterManningNYG

Arctangent wrote:

i really don't believe this. tool took their record company to court in the 90's which was part of the reason for the huge gap between albums. the were released from what was considered to be a restrictive contract but re-negotiated and re-signed with the same label. i can't believe having gone through all that they would have signed another crappy deal. apart from which, the 4 members of tool are now very wealthy guys thanks to money made from records and tours.

well i don't know the specific details of their re-negotiated contract, obviously. so you may be right about that. i'm just going by what i've heard, which is that certain members of the band are still bitter.

of course they have money. but it's not about that for them. they come across as the type of band that doesn't want "outsiders" to profit from their creativity... and this includes their own record label.

a band as established as tool should have a better contract than a band that is just starting out. but even still, there are very few record labels in the world (if any at all) that will give you the majority cut of your record sales. this is the price you pay to make a well-produced album and gain widespread exposure with it. i personally think it's worth it. but obviously not everybody sees it this way.

hence the tension between tool and their label. this was the point that i was originally trying to make about tool "not making enough money off their albums." they're not struggling to survive. it's more of pride issue. i see now that i wasn't very clear in my original argument. hopefully i've done a better job of explaining my point this time around.