I didn't realise that this would be a confession until I read that most ppl's opinions differ from mine....
but i LOVE the Judith remix!
a lot more than weak n powerless...
i think it sounds great in the industrial setting, but i guess all the guitar-heads in here (and elsewhere) are a little cut that the rock elements were lost. I was too, at first, but then i appreciated it in a different way. The w & p remix to me looses a bit because it doesn't have the dynamics of the original..but as a drummer its nice to hear some diferent beats to compliment the original also...it feels like danny lohner was just showing off the 2 approaches he has to remix - like "here's the rock one; here's the electro one"
yet to hear all the other remixes, but i look forward to it!

[B]Weak and Powerless[/B] – this one i feel is from the point of veiw of the addict, addressing the addiction itself.
[I]Tilling my own grave to keep me level[/I]
This shows a dual acknowledgement - that the character is on a descent, and that it can end in death, but that this descent keeps him together, at least more than giving up and feeling withdrawal symptoms.
[I]Jam another dragon down the hole[/I]
Ok, here i admit i have no idea what a dragon is, and what its doing down a hole! Is it a drug reference, or is it himself as a dragon being jammed down the hole he is digging??
[I]Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren[/I]
Again, an ambiguous line...what is the solitary siren. Obviously the addict feels alone and solitary but perhaps its the siren in the straight part of his mind, telling us he knows that this is wrong, he’s sending himself warning sirens, but...
[I]One that pushes me along and leaves me so
Desperate and ravenous[/I]
The siren pushes him along...perhaps the alarm in his body that tells him its time for another hit? (once again i’m using the metaphor of drug addiction coz its the easiest but just extend the metaphor for any other addiction.)
[I]So weak and powerless over you[/I]
(aaahhh, finally a more obvious line!) the ‘you’ is the addiction itself

[I]Someone feed the monkey while I dig in search of china[/I]
‘digging all the way to china’ shows just how deep the hole he’s digging can get. But please, whats the **** monkey? Is it himself – as in ‘look after me as i can’t stop myself’ ? Or is the monkey someone/something that he should be looking after but cannot do this due to addiction – i.e. wife, kids, work etc
[I]White as Dracula as I approach the bottom[/I]
Dracula who was white due to his constant need for his drug – blood.

[I]Little angel go away, come again some other day[/I]
‘Little angel’ is either the good conscience or an outside figure, tempting the antagonist away from their addiction, but, like many addicts, the descent feels so comfortable. (‘comfortably numb’ you might say.)
[I]The Devil has my ear today, I'll never hear a word you say[/I]
the devil being the bad conscience/addiction
[I]He promised I would find a little solace and some peace of mind[/I]
the solace and peace of mind coming from satisfying the addiction
[I]Whatever just as long as I don't feel so
Desperate and ravenous[/I]
Showing that the protagonist is so taken by the disease of addiction that they’re happy just to stop the withdrawals.
[I]So weak and powerless
Over you[/I]
I’d welcome any interpretations of those lines i’m struggling with! And all discussion is expected if you disagree with any of this, thats half the fun! Hope you enjoy!

[B]PS[/B] I'm not including the complete lyrics in these analyses, but if anyone is interested, i've created my own *.doc file of the 13th step complete lyrics, since i couldn't find them all together on the net. I'm happy to email it to anyone

This is a pretty pointless post but I thought I'd at least stop by to acknowledge this discussion. I'm not overly enthusiastic about the band itself, but I love the intellectual genius of Maynard's lyrics. What probably draws me toward Tool so heavily is that I'm a dork. I [i]am[/i] a guitarist but above all else, I'm just an antisocial science nerd, particularly in the unknown and newly explored regions of Quantum Physics, Spirituality, and Psychology.

[quote]I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going.[/quote]

It all really speaks for itself so there's no point in trying to be analytical, in this case. Its just so beautiful that I often times find myself getting emotional when I so little as read Maynard's poetry. Many Tool fans don't even know that they're getting a crash course in existentialism while listening.

As for A Perfect Circle, I love them too but its a different breed of song. It speaks more of introspective struggles/realizations than it does of the mental liberation of Tool. Its much more subjective and I tend not to buy it from other bands, but APC does it well so I don't resist.

[QUOTE=an_underused_memory]. The w & p remix to me looses a bit because it doesn't have the dynamics of the original..but as a drummer its nice to hear some diferent beats to compliment the original also...![/QUOTE]

The original song was one that Billy had wrote back in the Mer de noms era, but he could never decide on what beat to use for it, Josh came up with a dozen, and it was Maynard in the end that settled on using the current one. For the remix, im not sure if danny lohner used an original one, or one from Josh's original selection, but it shows that the song can take many different routes from different inputs of music.

As for the Judith remix, I suppose its one that people who really enjoy NIN's more industrial sound can enjoy more. I always prefer songs that are performed on instruments, rather than synthesised or full of samples. But thats just me

Tool is great because it appeals to my two main musical loves: songwriting and drumming. Danny Carey is amazing and underrated. The drum solo in 46 and 2 is a great use of odd time, while not intruding on the ostinato guitar and bass pattern and the guitar solo. And Maynard's voice is without parallel. He channels progressive rock of yore while infusing it with the angst of youth.

Track listing for the new APC album

01. "Annihilation" (Crucifix cover)
02. "Imagine" (John Lennon cover)
03. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace And Understanding" (Nick Lowe cover)
04. "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums"
05. "What's Goin' On" (Marvin Gaye cover)
06. "When The Levee Breaks" (Memphis Minnie cover)
07. "Freedom Of Choice" (Devo cover)
08. "People Are People" (Depeche Mode cover)
09. "Passive"
10. "Gimme Gimme Gimme" (Black Flag cover)
11. "Let's Have A War" (Fear cover)
12. "Fiddle And The Drum" (Joni Mitchell cover)

Yup, they said it was going to be a cover album. Theres also a full remix one on the way

I want to get this album. But I would rather APC make another album that they wrote. That would be awesome.

Ok I have a question for all that care to answer. Lately I have seen a lot of Tool fans pop up, now I myself cannot say im an original Tool fan 'cause frankly i was like 4 when they released the Opiate EP, but i have been a fan since '97. Now ever since 2001 the Tool fan base seems to have risen immensley. I see all these Tool fans all over the place, and its absurd these people hear Schism once on the radio and declare themselves dedicated Tool fans. Do you know any of these kinds of people? or if you are this kind of person, I really believe you shouldn't be reading anything in this thread. And another question for those who read this, what is it in your opinion that makes Tool such a great band. So yeah, Tool is cool. Stay in School, otherwise you wont understand the words they use. (Juxtaposed is my favorite usage) yeah i know, dumb saying but hey I don't care what you think, I think for myself.

thinking hurts

yeah i hate those guys you ask what their best song is and there like Schism..so next? ohh that song umm Sober, thats its and then think that their there number one fan and ****! that piss's me off!

Who are you to decide who can be a fan of the band? I have listened to Aenima many times and it's one of my fav albums. I consider myself a fan though I haven't heard there other songs.

[QUOTE=Street Spirit (Fade Out)]Who are you to decide who can be a fan of the band? I have listened to Aenima many times and it's one of my fav albums. I consider myself a fan though I haven't heard there other songs.[/QUOTE]

i'm agreeing with you on this one...tool are one of my favourite bands...if not my favourite band...but then it isn't up to me or anyone else who enjoys their music...i just think that with a band as deep as tool there are different levels of fans...fans who just enjoy their music, fans who are facinated by it and look into it deeper than those who just look at it on the surface and enjoy that level of it, and then those who...i feel...take it too far...i mean yes maynard is an incredible vocalist/poet/intelligent human being but NO he is not god...

[QUOTE=bebubly]...i mean yes maynard is an incredible vocalist/poet/intelligent human being but NO he is not god...[/QUOTE]

this is true...while maynard may not be God, he is a musical god, such as Jim Morrison, or Jimi Hendrix....

[QUOTE=xtreme450]this is true...while maynard may not be God, he is a musical god, such as Jim Morrison, or Jimi Hendrix....[/QUOTE]

i guess so...but like i say i am not talking about people who make that comment i am talking about people who literally talk of maynard as "god"...there's just a limit you know??

exactly

Yah you say about people thinking they are h4x tool fans. I would call my self 'really into them' but have only been listening for 2 months. I have yet to hear salival, undertow and opiate. My favourite tool song is sober, the first song i heard was aenima. I always had some weird feeling about the band like they weren't my thing. But now i listen to them and i really enjoy them. For those people who just hear schism and consider themselves hardcore fans I rekon you should just ignore 'em. They don't effect you and sooner or later they will realise they won't get cool points to like tool and will go back and listen to emo...

clearvision

[QUOTE=Myvisionisclear]Yah you say about people thinking they are h4x tool fans. I would call my self 'really into them' but have only been listening for 2 months. I have yet to hear salival, undertow and opiate. My favourite tool song is sober, the first song i heard was aenima. I always had some weird feeling about the band like they weren't my thing. But now i listen to them and i really enjoy them. For those people who just hear schism and consider themselves hardcore fans I rekon you should just ignore 'em. They don't effect you and sooner or later they will realise they won't get cool points to like tool and will go back and listen to emo...

clearvision[/QUOTE]

I agree with all of you. There are different levels of Tool fans. And if someone wants to cal themself a Tool fan when they only know two songs. Let them. We know that they aren't, and would get laughed at or would piss off a real Tool fan. Hey I like some emo!

stainds cover of sober is too slow

[QUOTE=bebubly]i guess so...but like i say i am not talking about people who make that comment i am talking about people who literally talk of maynard as "god"...there's just a limit you know??[/QUOTE]


My name should include the word musician at some point I realise now, as I do agree that calling any member of a group a 'god' is a bit far in that sense, and I certinally dont want people getting the other impression :lol:

As for the idea of qualifying for a Tool fan, I never recall having to take any test to become a 'fan', so its open to anyone to appreciate tool. Like was said, there are varying levels of fans, and I know that there are 'fan boys' (those that take it as their next trend, happening more with APC though now), people who just enjoy aspects of the music, then people like me and most of the posters on here who find some deeper connection. The band never planned on what fans they wanted, like I keep refering to, their goal is to provoke a reaction that leads to something creative, no matter what the reaction, as long as it leads to something positive.

im listening to hooker with a pe[color=white]nis[/color] and at around 3:30, in the background, i think i can hear a giant rippling fart. its cd quality, so i can hear a lot, which may be hard to hear through speakers. just thought id point someting useless out to see if anyone else notices it.

[QUOTE=gRiM999]stainds cover of sober is too slow[/QUOTE]

I really like it. It's a very simple song if you break it down like staind did. And i think staind or Aaron lewis as i think he is the only one playing... Really got the emotion of the song across. It was nice to hear his take on the song. The original is alot heavier and the emotion is put across in a different way. Your opinon though :)

Heh sorry for the emo thing, but it is the trend at the moment. You say about APC fan boys but without them i wouldnt be posting in this thread now, i got thirteenth step and Mer de noms before i listened to some tool. I think it was just maynards voice that first made me listen to aenima. But now i just love the complexity of the songs and the way that the guiter is often playing off the vocals intead of setting the overall sound of the song (<didn't make sense, sorry) Dannys drumming is also really complex and strange if you listen out for it. I don't know a thing about the basist lol but yeah without these fanboys promoting APC first i owuldn't know about tool. So in a way APC has benefitted by bringing in all levels of tool fans.

This is gonna sound real stupid, but do you ever think maynard will reveal himself in an autobiographical work. It would be real intresting to see what he was going through when writing the songs. I know he'll never say this is what i ment by this, but it would give us an understanding...

[QUOTE=Myvisionisclear]
This is gonna sound real stupid, but do you ever think maynard will reveal himself in an autobiographical work. It would be real intresting to see what he was going through when writing the songs. I know he'll never say this is what i ment by this, but it would give us an understanding...[/QUOTE]

This is one thing that would please so many people, but alienate a lot of others.

Maynard has given us many hints and ideas about whether or not he would ever write a book of any sorts. I remember one interview he was asked if he would ever write a book and he replied with "I've tried, but im just left staring at a blank word document without a clue how to start......so I just go look for porn instead"

The band as a whole has never liked their personal lives put in the spotlight much, although Adam in particular on toolband gives accounts of his holidays, events, etc, as they usually have a lot of interesting relevance to subjects.

But as for maynard, he very rarely gives away details of his private life (though his cookies and wine making are often commented on), and has criticised shows like Cribs.

To prevent further babbling (in a typing mood tonight, odd) it really remains a mystery whether or not a book will ever be on the horizon, and if one is, whether or not it will be a biograpy. It would be a fascinating read.



And the APC fan boy comment, its true that seeing a lot of people into a band (whether they are just trend following) will attract attention, but its rare to see people going from APC to Tool, usually its the other way.

when is that APC cover cd coming out?

November 2nd

[QUOTE=vodkapuddle]Id consider myself a tool newbie, ive just started listening to them over the past few days. Id totally recommend Aenima to anyone wanting to start listening to the band. But i personally got hooked by undertow, that just me though.[/QUOTE]
i got undertow because everyone was talking about how great they were so that was the only 1 i could find really so i got it and i couldnt get into it at all! i actually thought tool sucked :lol: but now i think its great i got hooked on lateralus then i got aenima so yeah thats how i got hooked :thumb:

[QUOTE=Kafkastolemyslippers]My friend and I were working on a cool theory for the Lateralus album with alternate track order and such and the Book of Enoch I think it was called. And by "my friend and I" I mean just my friend well I sat around. If this idea is new to you I can try to type what I remember of it.[/QUOTE]
yeah ive heard of that theory VERY interesting i think i like that theory most out of the ones ive heard im working on my own...

and the a perfect circle dvd comes out 2 weeks after the release of the cover cd, incase you didnt know

I'm back with avengance! I heard Maynard is only staying with APC for 3 albums, is this true?

APC only have one more album under their contract on Virgin, though im not sure if thats changed now. maynard said that he will stay for as long as he wants to I recall, but im not sure if there's any agreement (to tell the truth, Maynard probably has only 3 APC albums in him, along with Tool, he is growing old :upset:)

And cheers for the trauma returns (Points out mullet man in avatar, *shudders*)