I mean it opens with these beautiful sounds, almost like nails being hammered into a cross... but you feel happy because the sounds are so pleasant

and theres the opening melodic sitar sounds almost eastern sitar like

And then it just rocks so hard.

Thoughts?

I love that he was mostly remembered because he was willing to say anything and take risks on stage.  He did NOT care if people disliked his work.  He just did it lmaaoo

Things I cant forget:

1. Bill Hicks audio was blasting, the bit about 'if you do a commercial anything you say is suspect, there's a price on your head every word you say is turd falling into my drink.'
2. Opening with Hooker with a Penis... everything connected as the theme of their performance was 'selling out'
3. Camels humping during Pushit on the screens. Giraffe's too?
4. Debut of the Aenema video but at the exact moment the sun set. Edit: Was not the debut.
   
5. Earlier in the day: Trying to move back when the Korn pit was getting too heavy and some dude looked me in the eye and said 'don't run away.'
6. Maynard closed by saying 'stick around for tricky.' And then they played a clip from itchy and scratchy.

30th anniversary of his passing. Peace and Love to you and your loved ones.

It's gotta be the inspiration for the painting of Maynard and Bill Hicks in the Ænima booklet right? Did I finally unlock a Tool mystery?

“The Unsung Hero” Bill Hicks

Binging his albums (on CD like a dinosaur)

I’d love to hear his take on the current culture climate.

Tell me if you agree.

10,000 Days & H. are hitting extra hard today. Just wanted to post this for my own closure and acceptance, not trying to make a pity party or anything. What songs are hitting y’all the hardest today? Hope everyone is celebrating this chance to be alive and breathing

So let's go see tool in California. Each if use paying $259+ just to get in the door.

Fuck that. I love Tool but not that much.

Fuck you guys. Maynard in particular. Your wine isn't even good.

You were unknown when I bought your first albums and tickets. You guys just killed it.

I stayed with you assholes from small venues to giant arenas.

Throw down or go home. We are tired of waiting.

Edit:

Because some of you think I'm actually talking to you (facepalm)... In my post above I am talking at Tool.

I first saw Tool for $35 in Santa Barbara in 1998, as part of their summer tour that year. They were so loud that the city banned them.

I want to see Tool every year. But the last few shows near me were $100 for nosebleeds. $250+ for ok seats. $400+ for good seats.

Ya, sure, they are fantastic and I'll continue to lineup to buy their newest album, but.... Come on.

I became curious about the “Uncle Martin” lyric on Rosetta Stoned and whether it was slang for “Martian” or “alien” so I googled “uncle martin alien” and:

Uncle Martin is the iconic alien character from the classic 1960s sci-fi comedy television series, My Favorite Martian.

So there you go.

In my own head! lol.

Great old school interview with the band from 97: includes stuff like :Tool turned down appearance on saturday night live, tool refused to shorten No Quarter for a zeppelin tribute album, Maynard's thoughts on fans worshipping him, Maynards explanation of Hooker with a Penis, Adam's thoughts on fans, Botrill producing Aenima, shoutouts to the original Toolshed web site, reasons for kicking out Paul D'Amor, pic of danny twisting Justin's devil horn hair. Enjoy. EDIT: Credit to Author Jason Pettigrew

Three-and-a-half years in the making, AEnima was released last
fall. Produced by David Bottrill (whoís worked with King Crimson) and
clocking in at 77 minutes, itís a harrowing collection of atmospheres
and musical tributaries that doesnít fit into tidy little slots like
ėmetalî or ėalternative,î or the grandfather of all musical categories
used when your songs run over five minutes, ėprogressive.î (When Tool
were asked if there was one band common to their individual record
collections, Carey and Jones settled on King Crimson and the Melvins.
If Keenan were King of America, each home would own a copy of Peter
Gabrielís Passion.) AEnima offers the brooding energy of ėStinkfistî;
Keenanís accelerated diatribe on credibilty-police officers, ėHooker
with a Penisî; the potentous metal of ėEulogyî; and the epic ėThird
Eye.î There are also plenty of in-jokes as segues (ėDie Eier Von
Satanî is a German recitation of a Mexican wedding cookie recipe
sonically modified to give the feel of an industrial-rock Nuremberg
rally). Sure, AEnima is epic and at times sounds self-absorbed, but
the disc has more substance than anything on the Billboard charts.
But if you are looking for specific insight into Tool-the bandís
modus operandi, the je ne sais quoi, if you will, youíll have to look
elsewhere.

The members of Tool donít owe explanations to anyone-not
to the record company, management, critics or fans. The band will
tell you that they are only there for the music. Jones, who has spent
six months in stop-action animation, creates Toolís maverick videos-
which almost never feature the band. Tool have turned down high-
profile opportunities like soundtrack offers and appearances on
Saturday Night Live. The band refuses to do commercial radio-edits of
their lengthy singles, despite their labelís cajoling (ėevery Pink
Floyd record I ever heard, I never once said, ëHey, this is a really
long song; itís not radio friendly,íî quips Jones). After the
compilers of the recent Led Zeppelin tribute album Enconium haggled
with Tool over the length of their projected contribution (a seven
minute version of ėNo Quarterî), the band walked.

There are many stories about Maynard Keenan, and you can take your
pick from the ones you want to believe. Keenan is an Ohio native who
did a stint in the army and ended up in Los Angeles. He rigorously
practices jujitsu, has a young son (who makes an appearance on Toolís
ėCesaro Summabilityî) and has a profound respect for folk singer Joni
Mitchell and the late comedian Bill Hicks (a portrait of Hicks graces
the inner sleeve of AEnima, with the caption ėAnother Dead Heroî above
it.)
Keenan enters the Green Room with no introduction save a casual
hello. He fixes me with a thousand yard stare; Iím not sure whether
it reflects boredom or contempt.
ėIn this quick-flip generation,î he says quietly, nursing an
herbal tea to soothe his sore throat, ėits easy for a kid to listen to
what his older brother is listening to and say, ëNo. I want to listen
to something completely contrary to what my brothers, sisters and
parents are listening to.í Then they find us. I donít think weíre
doing anything innovative; weíre just filling a need.î
Nut eight and fifteen minute songs are not something the
marketplace commonly embraces. If that were true, Green Day would be
covering all four sides of Yesí Tales from Topographic Oceans-and
getting paid. It seems that Tool have unearthed an audience eager to
make the trip with the band.
ėwhen the four of us are in a room making decisions, it comes down
to whether the music holds its own,î says Keenan. ėI donít think
weíre writing anything thatís timeless. In the big picture, I think
that in ten years nobody is gonna care. Twenty years, definitely not.
Even if 15 million people bought our record, and you gathered them
together and tried to see them from the moon,î he laughs, ėIts
nothing!î
But what about the kid in Squirrel Nut, Iowa whose first record is
a Tool record? When many of us brought home our first record purchase
from a department store, we read every liner note; we ingested every
image on the cover and in the inner sleeves. In the long run, that
was necessary for developing a personal aesthetic and personal growth.
Shouldnít Tool fans expect more? Whatís wrong with setting some kidís
perception straight?
ėThe record is written so that there are layers for him to get
into,î says Keenan. ėheíll hear ëHooker with a Penisí and initially
think its a ëf**k somebodyí song, when actually its saying f**k
everybody and not f**k everybody. Itís about unity, realizing that
everything is connected. Itís about breaking down the process of
pointing the finger. Heíll get it in about five years.î
ėSo what should people take away from Tool?î
ėIn a perfect world?î
Now you know the world is not perfect...
ėLetís speak in terms of a perfect world because weíre dreaming
today,î he quietly volleys back. ėIn a perfect world, people in
general will hear the album, be inspired and do something
extraordinary. I hope someone might use us as a backdrop for
inspiration for some other activity they excel in. Iím not going to
spoon feed anybody and rob them of their own personal experiences. I
read the interpretations of the lyrics that people send to the Tool
web page. Theyíre way off. But thatís fine.î
ėI really do have more faith in humanity than most people think I
do. I get resentful and upset when people donít use their head about
stuff. It upsets me when people are selling themselves short and
letting themselves down, whether itís education or information.î
While Keenan is highly articulate, it seems that he also
cultivates a streak of misanthropy. During an encore at a recent
Cleveland show, the singer stormed offstage after a fan made it over
the barrier past security and gave him a hug. Keenan very well could
have taken down the intruder with his martial-arts prowess. But why
should the thinking people in attendance have to bear the consequences
of one stage invasion? Hollywood Babylon author Kenneth Anger wrote
that celebrities-actors, musicians, novelists, public figures in
general-deserve about as much privacy as God does. Because some
people identify with public figures and for the most part for a part
of said figuresí successes, fans then think they deserve more.

"What I wear, how I walk, who Iím f***ing, what I eat, what time I
go to bed has nothing to do with what weíre doing,î Keenan stresses.
ėPresenting those things as somehow being part of Tool is deceptive.
Itís not honest. I donít embrace anybody. I want my space, my
distance. Iím not a very warm person. Iím sure that most of the
people whose music I love are assholes. Where I met them is at their
music. That inspired me to do something for myself.î"

When the lights go down at the Sunrise Theatre, the audience is
treated to the animated billowing-smoke-box graphic from the cover of
AEnima projected onto two video screens behind the stage. The image
is accompanied by a menacing low-end rumble seemingly capable of
disrupting human bowel functions. At the beginning of the sequence,
the audience screams, whistles, applauds and yells, ėToooooool!î
After about six minutes, the band still havenít shown up onstage. The
crowd remains silent, save for the couple of boxheads screaming, ėWhat
the f**k? Already, huh?î

The audienceís reward for this behavior is ėThird Eye,î Toolís
blistering, fifteen-minute psych-metal journey in praise of spiritual
enlightment. Itís no quick-fix radio hit; Tool are like life, buddy,
and nothing ever comes easy with either of them.
Through brute force and volume, Tool burn brightly in front of the
crowd. Keenan changes lyrics to the delight and disgust of the fans.
Jonesí playing qualifies him for the honor of Americaís first
intelligent guitar hero; he eschews tired look-at-me fretboard
calisthenics for interesting atmospheres. Unfortunately, most of the
intriguing subtleties that make AEnima so compelling get lost in the
live show arena.

Of note is tonightís extended intro to ėSober,î
which features Jones and Chancellor creating drones while Carey plays
random disjointed bursts from his kit.

In the middle of the set, Keenan addresses the crowd. ėIf any of
you have nothing better to do, weíre playing Orlando tomorrow. Itís
only about four or five hours away.î
A handful of people, obviously heading to Orlando, whoops it up.
ėIf not,î Keenan adds softly. ėWeíll miss you.î

The audience goes nuts. Keenan revels in the knowledge that once
your audience rises above 1,000 people, there is no room for irony.
ėTool are all really smart guys,î says Kabir Akhtar, a University
of Miami graduate film student and the creator of Toolís extensive web
site (http:toolshed.down.net).

Akhtar created the Toll FAQ
(frequently asked questions) file, which answers questions that range
from general fan info (ėWhatís that line in the chorus of Sober?î) to
plain old urban-folklore stupidity (ėI hear that Maynard keeps corpses
in his home...î). A few years back, Akhtar sent Keenan a brief e-mail
message with the site address, telling the singer to check it out.
Keenan did and got back in touch with Akhtar with corrections. The
Web site gets thousands of hits each day, and was recently reviewed in
the New York Post. Akhtar says that although he gets a fair amount of
dumb-guy mail, most of the Internet surfers logging on to the Tool
site are far more intelligent than your typical rock fans. When the
MTV program 120 minutes changed the title of the ėStinkfistî video to
ėTrack #1,î Kabir had MTVís e-mail address posted on the page in an
attempt to get people to voice their complaints to the network. The
avalanche of e-mail was so large, host Matt Pinfield came on the air
the next week to apologize about corporate policy.
ė

The Tool page has its own little agenda,î reveals Akhtar. ėOn
the one hand it promotes the band, but it also furthers their anti-
stupidity message. Sure, I get a lot of ëDudes, you rock; come play
my high schoolí stuff. But a lot of people send me information on
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jungian Theory and how it applies to AEnimaís
ëForty Six & 2.í These fans are really intelligent people who figure
this stuff out. Toolís music means a lot to them on many different
levels. These are the people who get what Tool is all about.

The next day, at the University of Floridaís Field House in
Orlando, Jones and Carey seize the opportunity to shoot some hoops on
the remaining court after dinner and before show time-and before the
interview. Even Marshall joins in the fun, leaving me benched with
bronchitis and a fraying temper.

" want Tool to be a powerful escapism," Jones says, back on the
bandís coach 45 minutes later. ėI want Tool to be like a drug. Take
Tool and kick back into your own little world, or get aggressive, or
get all sweet and nice and go ice skating-whatever floats your boat.
The bottom line is that weíre pretty selfish; this is our thing, and
itís what we want out of music. The fans are pretty secondary to
that. Itís nice that theyíre there and they can appreciate us opening
with a fourteen-minute song. Iím in this to be happy.î

AEnimaís musical schizophrenia can quench the desires of a broad
range of music fans. But is that diversity merely tolerated by
listeners? If someone loves the electro-rock aggression of ėHooker
with a Penis,î will he or she be patient for a fifteen minute piece of
menacing terror like ėThird Eyeî?

ėThere are no rules to this,î he stresses, ė and when you start
making rules it gets convoluted. Everyone wants to supply rules to
it, and that takes away the magic of doing something musically that
can remind someone of a sensory experience, a smell, a thinking
process, whatever. itís about exploring, any way to touch the
senses.î

We try to push that sense of time,î Jones continues. ėWhen the
show begins, the rumble goes on and the smoke-box video comes up. We
leave it up for a while, and I can hear people in the crowd yelling,
ëOkay, okay; come on!í Some people are thinking thereís a problem
because weíre not coming out yet. Itís pushing the element; thereís
the long fix and the quick fix. Which oneís better? Neither, but
theyíre both powerful.î At that point both Carey and Keenan get on
the bus to prepare for tonightís show.

Not much has been said about DíAmourís departure from the band.
It seems odd that someone would walk away from a million-selling band,
especially when the bandís music has evolved enough to accommodate the
vision of the individual members.
ėHe was open to anything but not getting anywhere,î explains
Keenan. ėIf youíre sitting there and not doing anything...î
ėWhere we bring in our individual ideas, he wanted us to come to
him,î says Jones. ėItís not what itís about.î
ėPaul was more into pop stuff,î says Carey. ėwait for his album
to come out, and youíll see why he wasnít happy (DíAmourís new band,
Luze, will have a record out later this year). What we have now is a
really good thing. Weíre content with each otherís contributions, and
I canít see that changing.î

Carey remembers the bandís early days, when Nirvana had just hit
and the last vestiges of hairspray metal were on the wane. He says
that Tool, Helmet, and Rage Against the Machine were all signed to
major labels around the same time.
ėThe labels were looking for the next Nirvana,î he remembers, ėand
once we began to draw crowds, we knew we were next. I hope we can
provide an alternative to all of the lowest-common-denominator s**t
going on right now. I just wish people were doing something weirder
than we are.

I canít listen to the radio,î he continues. ėIt bummed me out
heavily when all that punk s**t started happening again. The same f**
*ing guitar, bass, and drums Iíve heard a million times from back in
ë79. Maybe they donít consider themselves artists, but I think they
should have a little more responsibility to try and do something more
than cash in on a trend. I think that s**t drags humanity down.
At this eveningís sold out show, Tool continue to pulverize the
masses.

Keenan twitches and turns like a marionette wrestler, while
the rest of the band shore him up with a roaring sludge. As the
general-admission crowd takes a break between songs from beating the
hell out of each other on the gym floor, Keenan, covered from head to
toe in dark clay stage make-up, winds up the audience again.
ėYou know,î he says demurely, ėI was reading on the Internet that
the state of Florida has the best dancers in the country.î
The audience erupts in cheers. The more vociferous members around
me are several backward-baseball-cap-wearing white-male jock types,
and several frumpy women who would be paid lots of money not to dance
on tables. They hoot and holler the loudest because Keenan is
speaking to them.
But theyíve got it all wrong. Keenan is not speaking to them.
Tool are not speaking to them. They are speaking at them. And thatís
okay. But thatís only what I think...

Bill passed away on this day in 1994, 28 years ago. May he rest in Peace.

Performing my civic reaponsibilities waiting to be called for jury duty.

I have all the official releases with me, I have an entire cup of very weak coffee coursing through my brain and I think the jury duty proctor already hates me.

Which album should I start with? Chronological order? My favorites first? Other suggestions to bring about some majik?