Band: TOOL
3tool = cock rock with trite pseudointellectual lyrics. i don't understand the appeal.
CRAP.
CRAP.
Band: TOOL
4Okay, so, Tool:
Avoided them like the plague for the first years - thought that they were sub-Helmet/Pantera cock rock, done with minor innovations. And I thought that their videos were annoying.
Then late one night in Sept. '97 or so I staggered in from a bender at 2AM, collapsed on the couch and surfed on the cable, hitting Music Television right at the start of the video for "Stinkfist."
Holy Christmas was that crazy. It took me back to the first time I saw the Hellraiser movie - disturbingly twisted otherworld. And I was really impressed with the song's sounds and structure.
Bought that record (AEnima), and although there is non-musical filler that I could give or take, and some of the songs maybe go a verse/chorus more than necessary, I discovered a fullness of appreciation for what they were doing.
I'd use an analogy at this point - the distance between the pap of Creep by Radiohead and the excellence of the OK Computer record, which I also discovered in the same manner around this time (after having written them off for years.)
Bought Lateralus when it came out, and, well, really liked it. Liked the songcraft and the sounds, excluding the drums which sound like they were recorded in a cardboard box with a microphone made out of cardboard. The album is maybe two songs too long, but I really liked the development of the record.
I did get the chance to see them live, and it was quite good when focused on the music and the performers. The meathead contingent were, as always, an extremely useless part of the experience.
Tool gets a lot of flak, and rightfully so 'cause of their history. But now it seems incorrect to me to lump them in with current cock-rock such as Korn or Linkin Park or Pantera or the Biscuits of Limp.
More appropriate to slot them nearer to prog-tinged music, more like mid-period Yes, King Crimson, and even Melvins, Chavez and Don Cab. Of course that is not to say that they sound like any of the aforementioned, but there is a particular way of listening to detailed music associated with each.
Opiate - crap (boring)
Undertow - crap (repetitive without development)
AEnima - not crap
Lateralus - not crap, excepting the song "Tick"
Tool = Not Crap, with a waffle breakfast for four.
Avoided them like the plague for the first years - thought that they were sub-Helmet/Pantera cock rock, done with minor innovations. And I thought that their videos were annoying.
Then late one night in Sept. '97 or so I staggered in from a bender at 2AM, collapsed on the couch and surfed on the cable, hitting Music Television right at the start of the video for "Stinkfist."
Holy Christmas was that crazy. It took me back to the first time I saw the Hellraiser movie - disturbingly twisted otherworld. And I was really impressed with the song's sounds and structure.
Bought that record (AEnima), and although there is non-musical filler that I could give or take, and some of the songs maybe go a verse/chorus more than necessary, I discovered a fullness of appreciation for what they were doing.
I'd use an analogy at this point - the distance between the pap of Creep by Radiohead and the excellence of the OK Computer record, which I also discovered in the same manner around this time (after having written them off for years.)
Bought Lateralus when it came out, and, well, really liked it. Liked the songcraft and the sounds, excluding the drums which sound like they were recorded in a cardboard box with a microphone made out of cardboard. The album is maybe two songs too long, but I really liked the development of the record.
I did get the chance to see them live, and it was quite good when focused on the music and the performers. The meathead contingent were, as always, an extremely useless part of the experience.
Tool gets a lot of flak, and rightfully so 'cause of their history. But now it seems incorrect to me to lump them in with current cock-rock such as Korn or Linkin Park or Pantera or the Biscuits of Limp.
More appropriate to slot them nearer to prog-tinged music, more like mid-period Yes, King Crimson, and even Melvins, Chavez and Don Cab. Of course that is not to say that they sound like any of the aforementioned, but there is a particular way of listening to detailed music associated with each.
Opiate - crap (boring)
Undertow - crap (repetitive without development)
AEnima - not crap
Lateralus - not crap, excepting the song "Tick"
Tool = Not Crap, with a waffle breakfast for four.
Band: TOOL
5My short Tool story (get it?)...
My old band got to play and travel as part of the Lollapalooza side stage a few years ago (actually 10 years ago...jeez) and our slot was the slot right before Tool's slot which was pretty fitting as we played mostly quiet jazzy children's music at the time. Doh! Anyway, every day we would show up at noon and the Tool crew was already there (not Tool, their crew) and they were busy changing all the drum heads on all the drums and another guy was changing all the bass strings on all the four basses (the bass he USED, the backup bass, the backup's backup bass, and last but not least the ol' 'Billy Baroo' bass just in case). They did this every single day. I assume there was a guitar tech changing all the guitarists' strings but he must have set up his shop in their bus or something. Anyway, we asked the bass tech if we could have the old sets of strings (as they were only one day old and most of them were not even played upon) so he was nice enough to NOT cut the strings off but rather unravel them and gave us a big box of full sets. I still use those strings to this day and the box is not even half empty. Ah, the spoils of sponsorships!
True story.
My old band got to play and travel as part of the Lollapalooza side stage a few years ago (actually 10 years ago...jeez) and our slot was the slot right before Tool's slot which was pretty fitting as we played mostly quiet jazzy children's music at the time. Doh! Anyway, every day we would show up at noon and the Tool crew was already there (not Tool, their crew) and they were busy changing all the drum heads on all the drums and another guy was changing all the bass strings on all the four basses (the bass he USED, the backup bass, the backup's backup bass, and last but not least the ol' 'Billy Baroo' bass just in case). They did this every single day. I assume there was a guitar tech changing all the guitarists' strings but he must have set up his shop in their bus or something. Anyway, we asked the bass tech if we could have the old sets of strings (as they were only one day old and most of them were not even played upon) so he was nice enough to NOT cut the strings off but rather unravel them and gave us a big box of full sets. I still use those strings to this day and the box is not even half empty. Ah, the spoils of sponsorships!
True story.
Band: TOOL
7Definately Not Crap...
Good Band. Talented, Unique, Great drum sound and technique...
They get points for not seeming to be one of these new fly by night shit indie bands who give ridiculous interviews and trump themselves up to god-like status.
Good Band. Talented, Unique, Great drum sound and technique...
They get points for not seeming to be one of these new fly by night shit indie bands who give ridiculous interviews and trump themselves up to god-like status.
I could have been a contender...
Band: TOOL
9Not a bad band. I have a couple of albums someone copied for me.
I can never be fucked to listen to them.
I can never be fucked to listen to them.
simmo wrote:Someone make my carrot and grapefruits smoke. Please.
Band: TOOL
10a tollerable band, but they certainly don't live up to their acclaim (especially musician-wise). all their songs sound exactly the same; open drop d chords a la Helmet, drumbeats that are nothing but synthetic tom fills, bass with flange or chorus or something equally gheigh, terrible lyrics sung in an 'arabic' scale, etc. it's no less formulatic than nickleback.
crap. WF: 7 cuz it's better than most of the stuff on the radio.
crap. WF: 7 cuz it's better than most of the stuff on the radio.