Maynard James Keenan - the "rant about all of his bands at once" thread

[theimage13]

Since MJK has three bands with separate threads, all of which constantly turn into whining about him and his other projects, here's a thread where you can come in and discuss, appreciate, or bitch about every musical endeavor that Maynard is a part of.

I'll start it off: I think Puscifer is vastly underrated. Some of their stuff is admittedly a bit out there, but some of it is worthy of commercial airplay - and yet, I'm pretty sure no one who isn't a fan of APC or Tool has any clue that they exist.

[Space Suicide]

Since MJK has three bands with separate threads, all of which constantly turn into whining about him and his other projects, here's a thread where you can come in and discuss, appreciate, or bitch about every musical endeavor that Maynard is a part of.

I'll start it off: I think Puscifer is vastly underrated. Some of their stuff is admittedly a bit out there, but some of it is worthy of commercial airplay - and yet, I'm pretty sure no one who isn't a fan of APC or Tool has any clue that they exist.

A Perfect Circle > Puscifer > Tool

Shoot me.

[gerbil]

This is a terrible idea and will end in bloodshed.

[brokenfragility]

A Perfect Circle > Puscifer > Tool


I agree! 10 characters.

[Leviathant]

^^ brokenfragility that's what the "Like this post" button is for. Use that instead of writing something so short that you need to pad it with garbage to even be allowed to post it.

Tool started off okay, peaked, and then collapsed. 10,000 Days needed an editor, and the live shows are boring and overpriced.
A Perfect Circle came out of the gates at the top of their game, and quickly faltered (although I do like about half of 13th Step)
The first Puscifer album was terrible, but each major release has gotten better since then. Likewise, the live performances seem to get better as the project progresses.

[Wolfkiller]

His best work was on Green Jellö's Cereal Killer soundtrack. Come at me, bruvs.
For real doe, Tool always bored the shit out of me, I could never understand the hype. APC had some solid tunes I love, I really should get around to checking out their full albums.

[Ryan]

Maynard's wine > the rest.

[Frozen Beach]

13th Step is the best APC album, and I can't comprehend how anyone could prefer Mer De Noms. Also, the first Puscifer album isn't bad at all, it's actually pretty great. Also, the best work Maynard has ever done is the C Is For ep.

[Ryan]

Tool started off okay, peaked, and then collapsed. 10,000 Days needed an editor, and the live shows are boring and overpriced.
A Perfect Circle came out of the gates at the top of their game, and quickly faltered (although I do like about half of 13th Step)
The first Puscifer album was terrible, but each major release has gotten better since then. Likewise, the live performances seem to get better as the project progresses.

I agree with all of this.

With Tool, I clearly remember when I was in my second last year or so of high school I said to a friend at the time, "how on earth are they going to top Lateralus? If they do it will be the most epic record of all time." -- then I hear Vicarious and am like "Why does this sound like Schism?" and the crappy album title and re-used imagery from Alex Grey. 10,000 Days should have been something entirely different and it's all become lazy, live and on the part of Maynard.

APC has turned into a cash grab, though the days of Thirteenth Step and when it leaked, and the excitement of all that was great. From then on it went downhill. It all went downhill as soon as the mystique disappeared and The Outsider video surfaced and all that Bikini Bandits shit popped up.

Puscifer I'll agree that it has become progressively better and I'm looking forward to the DVD.

[Krazy]

Puscifer, musically, is fucking terrible. Saw it once at the St. Paul festival last year and it was a good comedy act I must admit. (I mean that in a positive way- would have to see it to appreciate it and MJK seemed to be in his comfort zone with it).

APC has a number of great songs in their short catalog. Might be "over rated" because MJK is in the band but incredible nonethe less. Yes, it's turned into a side project joke unfortunately- but if you stay away from the cash grabs (can something be a cash grab if it doesn't make cash?) then don't sweat it.

Tool is boring post Lateralus? Wow- lazy maybe, I get that part. Facepalm me if you want but a lot of fans feel the same way about TR post TDS or TF, depending on taste. 10K Days may not have been Aenima or Laterlaus but it's still a great fucking record.

Flame on...

[Leviathant]

It all went downhill as soon as the mystique disappeared and The Outsider video surfaced and all that Bikini Bandits shit popped up.

Spot on. Suddenly, a band that was pretty good at filling the thoughtful rock band with a well crafted image turned into a horrible joke. I feel as though something must have happened to the relationship with the label, a sort of "Well, fuck this then" moment, which is too bad.

I think my feelings for the first album are tied to having seen APC play before NIN during the Fragility tour, eight times total, IIRC. I distinctly remember singing along to the words of the leaked but unreleased album in a fairly empty pavilion, only to realize Maynard was staring through my soul, and I became extra self conscious. I caught their show in DC in 2001, but the sound was pretty terrible, comparatively speaking. It was like they were deliberately boosting the bass so as to completely destroy any chance of getting quality bootleg recordings of the tour.

I was also fortunate enough to see them perform in Philadelphia at the TLA a month before Thirteenth Step was released, as a wedding gift from ETSers at the time. But yeah, sometime in the midst of promoting that album, the "fuck off" switch got thrown. Danny's "Counting Bodies Like Sheep" remix was pretty cool, but other than that, I write off pretty much everything after the release of Thirteenth Step.

[Ryan]

Spot on. Suddenly, a band that was pretty good at filling the thoughtful rock band with a well crafted image turned into a horrible joke. I feel as though something must have happened to the relationship with the label, a sort of "Well, fuck this then" moment, which is too bad.

I think my feelings for the first album are tied to having seen APC play before NIN during the Fragility tour, eight times total, IIRC. I distinctly remember singing along to the words of the leaked but unreleased album in a fairly empty pavilion, only to realize Maynard was staring through my soul, and I became extra self conscious. I caught their show in DC in 2001, but the sound was pretty terrible, comparatively speaking. It was like they were deliberately boosting the bass so as to completely destroy any chance of getting quality bootleg recordings of the tour.

I was also fortunate enough to see them perform in Philadelphia at the TLA a month before Thirteenth Step was released, as a wedding gift from ETSers at the time. But yeah, sometime in the midst of promoting that album, the "fuck off" switch got thrown. Danny's "Counting Bodies Like Sheep" remix was pretty cool, but other than that, I write off pretty much everything after the release of Thirteenth Step.

Danny's remix of The Outsider was awesome as well. And his ASHES dIVIDE remixes.

As a matter of fact, Danny is unable to make a crappy remix and he was the only member of APC to only be in the band for, what, a day?

Why is someone so talented so underused?!

[henryeatscereal]

Puscifer does nothing for me... A fuckin' waste of time...

I miss APC a lot!!!

[blackholesun]

I still enjoy some Tool and APC stuff, but I don't think I'd call myself a fan of either band anymore. It's not a really a knock on either band or even MJK, I just feel like I got bored with the music. I've never really liked Puscifer, but I can respect what MJK is doing with it.

[ZeroSum]

Tool is the only Maynard band without an album that is complete shit. Undertow through Lateralus clearly represents their peak period. Undertow has a lot of raw anger and fit in well with the band's peers in the grunge era. A bit darker, proggier, and slightly more heady than its contemporaries, but occupying the same sonic territory nonetheless. There was an honesty to this album that doesn't come through as clearly on later Tool albums. Aenima is probably their best album front to back. It's clearly an album that is in transition, which is probably why it's of such quality- it combines the rawness and aggression of Undertow with the more sophisticated, (pseudo?)intellectual approach of Lateralus. Songs like Third Eye, H., Eulogy, and Pushit are among the best I've heard in the genre, and Stinkfist and 46 & 2 are their best singles. Lateralus is really great as well, but hasn't aged as finely as Aenima for me. It's a lot calmer than previous records, but still clearly Tool. Early on the singles are what did it for me, but now The Grudge, The Patient, Ticks and Leaches, and Disposition ----> Triad are clearly the albums strong points. 10,000 Days, while still a decent album in its own right, unfortunately warrants a lot of the mocking that the band seems to get from the general music community. Maynard's vocals aren't of the same caliber, there is a lot of filler (which is bad for an album with only 10-ish tracks... I can take the filler in Aenima because there are plenty of true songs to outweigh it. 10,000 Days just becomes a chore after a while) there really didn't need to be two parts to "Wings For Marie", and Rosetta Stoned, Vicarious, and Right in Two, while not complete shit, have lazy approaches to them. Rosetta Stoned just drags, Right in Two rips off old material, and all of them sound like lazy attempts at commentary on intellectual topics. Just not a great album, though I think The Pot and Jambi are both fantastic. I still spin the whole thing from time to time. All in all, I read a recent "humor" article about what your "favorite band says about you" and Tool's was "You're either really, really smart or really, really dumb" and I thought that was kinda poignant (on a side note, NIN's was something about enjoying angry, kinky sex... think they might be on to something).

A Perfect Circle kicked all kinds of ass on Mer De Noms, and Thirteenth Step was a more than worthy follow up. Mer De Noms might actually be my favorite Maynard album overall, as much as I love Aenima. Every song on Mer (minus Sleeping Beauty, for some reason I just cant get into that one) is just awesome, with tons and tons of great atmosphere that makes for a very strong, flowing listen. GREAT vocals from Maynard, amazing melodies, and of course the rest of the band is great too. Howerdell is a phenomenal guitarist for what he does, and the name Josh Freese just kinda speaks for itself around these parts. Thirteenth Step has some of their best songs, some real standouts for sure, but I feel like the album itself is a bit jumbled. Their cover of The Failure song is just really bad compared to the original, and a few other songs kinda border on filler, but the best songs on the album are incredible. Emotive fucking sucks so fucking hard. Fuck that album. So bad. It's really sad what happened with this band. They were really the hope for modern rock radio I think. They were such a thoughtful band, with a lot of ambiance to go along with their hard rock riffs.... It's sad that not that long ago this band was getting radio attention, and now when people thing modern rock they just imagine awful knuckle-dragging, talentless fucks like Nickelback.

Puscifer is alright. Conditions for my Parole is a legitimately good album, it honestly reminds me of a more electronic Thirteenth Step. Its the first album that Maynard has been a part of since Thirteenth Step that has some notable artistic direction. I listen to this a lot, and am sad I passed up my chance to see them live a year or two ago. That being said, V is for Vagina is pretty goddamn bad. There are a few good songs ("The Undertaker" and "Dozo" mostly) but most of the album is garbage. It felt lazy and sophomoric the whole way through. The recent EP is alright, but unfortunately feels more like the goofy nonsense than the actual quality music Conditions for my Parole had.

Overall, I'd rank the bands Tool > APC > Puscifer. Probably the ranking you would expect most to have.

Right now, though, as far as interest in hearing new material goes, I'd rank it like this: APC > Tool > Puscifer. I think Tool has already reached their creative peak, and although I'd love to see them come back big and kill it with a new album, something seems out of sync with them unfortunately. I think APC just ended too early, who knows what the fuck happened with Emotive, and Billy Howerdel still has a lot of quality material left in him. The Ashes Divide album was really underrated.

I can't believe I typed all that.

[fillow]

Danny was the only member of APC to only be in the band for, what, a day?

I think it's fair to count Danny as a full time band member during 2004 eMotive recording sessions (which took its time be recorded anyway), since he is playing on pretty much every song on that record.

[Tyson]

Tool started off okay, peaked, and then collapsed. 10,000 Days needed an editor, and the live shows are boring and overpriced.
A Perfect Circle came out of the gates at the top of their game, and quickly faltered (although I do like about half of 13th Step)
The first Puscifer album was terrible, but each major release has gotten better since then. Likewise, the live performances seem to get better as the project progresses.

I agree with most of that. For me, Tool peaked with Lateralus. To me that album is the pinnacle of Tool. Anytime I listen to it I feel like my soul is being cleansed, and by the time the album is over I feel like a better person. 10,000 Days is the Tool equivalent of With Teeth to me. There's some good stuff on there (everything, really), but stuff like Lipan Conjuring, Lost Keys and Viginti Tres and the overall album flow seem to make it hard to listen to the whole album in one sitting. I guess Aenima feels the same way to me. Never could, and still can't, get into Undertow, aside from Disgustipated.

I love Mer de Noms and 13th Step. The latter more than the former. Didn't care for eMotive or any of other "We're not writing anything new, but buy this" releases. And to be honest, now that Freese is gone, I probably won't be interested in anything new they do now anyway.

As for Puscifer, exactly what you said.

[icklekitty]

Maynard releases I like:

Opiate
Undertow
Aenima
Mer De Noms
Thirteenth Step
Lateralus (sort of)
That song about having sex with Jesus for the Underwold soundtrack (this backs up Ryan's theory about Lohner)

All signs point to something wrong in 2003/4, because everything since has been largely awful.

[scorpiusdiamond]

Ooh goodie. Can we compare the sets from Lollapalooza?

A Perfect Circle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Ep-K4H_G4
Puscifer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLvPu3QpNac

Maynard is still a good singer, obviously, he just knows where he wants to focus his efforts and that's where we all disagree.

[koz-ivan]

alright give me a moment here to hate on APC, their records aren't bad but i don't hear anything that make them special either, there is nothing memorable there, save the band member's resumes. to me it just comes off as this very generic bland sonic porridge.

Puscifer otoh, there is a really weird conflict with this band, the art direction leans heavy on the jokes, some of the lyrics / titles don't take themselves too seriously, and of course the first song i ever heard from them was "cuntry boner" - now idk which either because of or despite all that, the bad is making some great songs / albums. not everything is a hit it out of the park moment but there are amazing high points in there. The comedic aspects may be part of some larger marketing scheme in a effort to let the project stand out, idk. it's obvious that there is real craft involved in these songs.

Tool lastly was really good at what they do, i'll applaud them for making some great heavy songs that still had some smarts to them. On the shallow side they were a band that took packaging very seriously, nothing else looks like a tool record, very little else even sounds like a tool record. even just picking up a cd still in the shrink wrap - you just know the album is gonna have some crazy awesome shit on it. and as a band they usually back up the promises their packaging makes for them. Opiate was kinda ok, but everything after that has had some stand out tracks, and they were never a band that was going to stick to conventions, if a song needed to be a 7-10 min epic thing, that is what it would be. and then they'll throw in the random odd tracks just to help set atmosphere / mood.

[aggroculture]

I was also disappointed with the title of 10000 Days (particularly clueless to call it that after Disturbed had just released an album called 10000 Fists) and the fact it was Alex Grey again, but the album totally won me over. Of course it's not in the same league as Lateralus (what is?), but it's nonetheless a stunning, incredible album, which does not need an editor. Jambi, The Pot, Rosetta Stoned: all classic Tool. I wish they'd released an extended version/remix of Rosetta Stoned as an EP: it's basically a condensed rock opera, and would love a longer version going even deeper into the story.
However I do agree that 10000 Days does kind of show Tool taking themselves a bit too seriously as these prog rock titans who need to be all dark and moody and write really long songs, it does veer in places close to self-parody, and the tour has gone on about four years too long.
They have lost their playfulness a bit. That Wings for Marie stuff is a little too much. I did dig it for a while, but not for a long time now.
For the future, I would really love something different from Tool: how about a 40-minute album of 10 3/4-minute songs? Deadly serious here. They should take a leaf out of Melvins book and do something unexpected.

APC for me, was a moment in time. They should have just left it at that. eMOTIVe was where they thought they were going to change the world by defeating Bush...with a shitty covers album. People Are People is just sad. Though I do like Imagine and Let's Have a War.
But yeah why are they dragging it out? Maynard has Puscifer now, he clearly does not need APC as an artistic outlet. Is he so worried about Billy starving? Why is Billy clinging to APC when Maynard clearly isn't into it anymore?
Oh, and 13th Step is the masterpiece.

Puscifer I think are getting worse as they get more mainstream/boring/mellow. Those first two Underworld tracks Oh My God: that lush production, that slinky mix of sexy electronica and angry rock darkness. Just think people what Puscifer could have been if it had gone down that path. V For Vagina, when it came out, was a massive disappointment to me, but it has since grown on me a lot. I just sounds so...weird and unlike anything else. Indigo Children is probably the high point. Everything else since for me has been kind of whatever, but I do like the live shows. Conditions is awful, sounds like a bunch of APC demos: sorry I am not ready for Maynard being all kumbaya and getting his "I'm chillin with Mother Nature here in the valley with my wine and my soft melancholy memories" on: that album is way too mellow and unfinished-sounding to me, I don't get what you guys see in it. Though I do love Toma and The Rapture. Donkey Punch is a step in the right direction, I especially like the Dear Brother remix.

[Leviathant]

If I may continue my rant against modern Tool... I'm so tired of Alex Grey's Invisible Man/Acid Space Hippie artwork for those guys, but with their more recent art switching it up to Adam Jones' Monsters from the Highschool Notebook Margins, I feel like they've taken another big step in the wrong direction.

@aggroculture (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=318) - I'd be happy with an extended Rosetta Stoned EP (which I would listen to once online and be glad I never bought) if that meant the song could be excised completely from 10,000 Days. Can it bring the talkbox solo with it? That went on way, way too long. And when I say these things, I'm speaking only to my own personal taste in music. I'm not judging you for liking stuff I don't like - everyone has their own taste and that's great :)

[renholder]

Wait... there's recent Tool art? What?

I liked that Happy Pencil dude.

Also, my thoughts on the thread: all three bands have excellent high points and embarrassing low points. I have personal preferences that I won't bother writing an essay about because everyone here made up their minds long ago and no amount of discussion is going to change that.

[Clownboat]

If I may continue my rant against modern Tool... I'm so tired of Alex Grey's Invisible Man/Acid Space Hippie artwork for those guys, but with their more recent art switching it up to Adam Jones' Monsters from the Highschool Notebook Margins, I feel like they've taken another big step in the wrong direction.

@aggroculture (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=318) - I'd be happy with an extended Rosetta Stoned EP (which I would listen to once online and be glad I never bought) if that meant the song could be excised completely from 10,000 Days. Can it bring the talkbox solo with it? That went on way, way too long. And when I say these things, I'm speaking only to my own personal taste in music. I'm not judging you for liking stuff I don't like - everyone has their own taste and that's great :)
Oh man, I agreed with every word you've posted in this until the bit about Rosetta Stoned. Frankly, that's the only song on 10,000 Days that I thought was any good! It was nice to hear a non-serious Tool song for the first time in... Good god, was it a decade? It was a nice breath of fresh air.

(I also have to admit, I love 10,000 Days' focus on Chancellor's bass. It sounded really good, even if the songs weren't any good.)

edit: Just to add to the rambling, a pet peeve of mine is that I've got some friends that hype up current APC news like it's nobody's business. I don't understand why—the band is a dead, worthless husk. I'd love a remastered version of Mer de Noms someday, but the rest of the band's material isn't worth anything to me.

[cahernandez]

I still don't understand the hatred towards eMOTIVe. Yes, I can give you "People are People" is not the best, "Freedom of Choice" is fairly standard but the rest? The album is excellent! Like I mentioned in the Syria thread, to me this album gained relevance once again when the USA started rattling it sabers towards Al Assad. It may have been written as a response to the 2004 US presidential election, but as long as there's a weapon industry/wars, this album will stay relevant.

The first six songs on that album are solid gold, such a great album opener and I think it's the better six song start of any APC album (in my opinion, Magdalena from MDN and Blue from TS keep those album openers from being perfect).

The Imagine cover is a lot better than John Lennon's original version (something about his vocals...they sound too wimpy). I like how APC was able to turn a peace song into such a "war march", and in general, that's my opinion of the whole album, how they were able to come up with very unique versions of other songs, instead of doing a "paint by the numbers" cover album (ala "Plagiarism" by Dillinger Escape Plan). Annihilation? It's amazing what a creative group can do with a punk song. Gimme Gimme Gimme? I like Black Flag quite a bit and I appreciate that this band was able to provide me with a completely different take of such a hardcore anthem. What's Going On? heaps and miles better than the cover version by all those pop artists for that AIDS relief album. When The Levee Breaks? Amazing jazzy vibe. And The Fiddle and the Drum is an excellent way to finish off the album, specially when you have such a strong singer like Maynard.

Like I said, besides "People are People" and "Freedom of Choice", I don't know why would anyone call this a weak album.

[henryeatscereal]

I like eMOTIVE, it's the "least best APC album", lol

[Mr. Blaileen]

What I would love is for Tool to release a mellower album. Maynard is still a fantastic singer, but there are some Tool songs he can't do so well anymore. Also, he doesn't really seem interested in the hard-rock thing anymore.. Why fake it or put songs on a record that he can't sing live? A mellower album doesn't have to mean it's lighter or that the material would be simpler.. Songs like "Intension", "Disposition", Parabol, etc. It doesn't have to be ENTIRELY mellow, but I'd love to see that direction.

[PhoenixML]

Ah Maynard!!! My second favorite artist (after TR).

I discovered him on Deftones' Passenger, what a song!

It took me a while to get into Tool. I had previously heard Lateralus and Aenima, but 10000 Days was the first Tool album I bought. I completely missed the hype, it came out, I loved it, I bought it. Lateralus is perfect, Aenima is a little weird, I don't like Undertow.

Love everything of A Perfect Circle. Thirteenth Step is one of my favorite album of all time.

I hated Puscifer when it was only V is for Vagina. But then C is for Something came out, and I liked it! And I really really, really, love Conditions of my Parole.

Anything Maynard, bring it on! Tool, APC, Puscifer (not a remix please) I LOVE IT! Live Puscifer? I hope there's the new version of Indigo Children!! Man.. three projects? How can I be mad at him? He's bound to release something! I need more Maynard.

I have never seen any of his bands live yet. I saw the live stream of Puscifer and APC this year, was not impress.

MORE MAYNARD!!!

[Leviathant]

Oh man, I agreed with every word you've posted in this until the bit about Rosetta Stoned. Frankly, that's the only song on 10,000 Days that I thought was any good! It was nice to hear a non-serious Tool song for the first time in... Good god, was it a decade? It was a nice breath of fresh air.

I guess it just felt extra forced. If I had any single critique of Lateralus, at all, it might be that the entire record is 'serious business', whereas every other Tool album has some wry humor to lighten things up. It's sort of like how ... okay, nerd-mode activated/enhanced: like how X-Files and Stargate would have collapsed in on themselves if they hadn't started doing goofy shit (the way Stargate Universe was insufferable). And that goofiness becomes unusually strong glue that keeps the heavy stuff from totally cracking up.

But I don't have any critique of Lateralus. I lurrrves it, even without any moments of unadulterated silliness.

I guess part of my distaste for Rosetta Stoned comes from their goddamn disappointing, stuck-in-1998 website, and the Blair newsletters that I associate with it. Which actually ties into my X-Files reference better than I was anticipating when I brought that up. The thing is - the X-Files peaked in, what, 1995? Abduction mythology is very firmly rooted in the early-to-mid-90s. So too, apparently, is Tool.

So yeah, fuck Toolband.com.

[screwdriver]

I guess it just felt extra forced. If I had any single critique of Lateralus, at all, it might be that the entire record is 'serious business', whereas every other Tool album has some wry humor to lighten things up. It's sort of like how ... okay, nerd-mode activated/enhanced: like how X-Files and Stargate would have collapsed in on themselves if they hadn't started doing goofy shit (the way Stargate Universe was insufferable). And that goofiness becomes unusually strong glue that keeps the heavy stuff from totally cracking up.

But I don't have any critique of Lateralus. I lurrrves it, even without any moments of unadulterated silliness.

I guess part of my distaste for Rosetta Stoned comes from their goddamn disappointing, stuck-in-1998 website, and the Blair newsletters that I associate with it. Which actually ties into my X-Files reference better than I was anticipating when I brought that up. The thing is - the X-Files peaked in, what, 1995? Abduction mythology is very firmly rooted in the early-to-mid-90s. So too, apparently, is Tool.

So yeah, fuck Toolband.com.

musically, Rosetta Stoned is ... well, Tool, but at the top of their Tool game, I thought.

Lyrically, I thought it was a really interesting refutation of their Third Eye "drugs are gonna take you to the next level" stuff. (The riffs even reference Third Eye in the breakdown, but one beat short, just like the protagonist of the song in comparison.) I'm not particularly clued into the band or their online culture or anything, so maybe I missed any literalism intended, but I just sort of took it as a parable about being too trusting of your drug visions.

[frankie teardrop]

i've never been the world's biggest tool fan, but there was a (short) period in time where they really mattered to me. as a disaffected middle schooler/bona-fide 120 minutes junkie, i loved the brothers quay-ish videos for the early songs, but never purchased undertow for lack of allowance, etc. a friend plays me aenima when it comes out and i dig it just fine, make a tape dub, and give it the occasional spin throughout high school, never upgrading to a CD for whatever reason.

meanwhile, the hype and release of the fragile paired with a perfect circle's release date got me really interested in maynard's new band. i bought the perfect circle album at a media play midnight release and LOVED it- preferring the romanticism and melodicism to the general bludgeoning, meticulous onslaught of tool (while this is never a rule, i generally steer towards "melody/songwriting" over "noise"). to date, it's my favorite maynard related release. despite falling for mer de noms, tool still isn't a priority for me over the next two years, but by the time lateralus comes around, i'm in my second year of college, going through a major spiritual/new age kick (woof), and the album just clicked. i devoured that record, and got heavily into what came before it. the hyper seriousness (i tend to steer clear of goofy/ironic music unless it's devo or pop music) is what i appreciated most and what opened the door to being a fan in general. i see a show on that tour with a few friends and have an awful experience at the show thanks to being separated from my best friend. instead of sitting next to him and enjoying the concert together as brothers, i was half a row away, sitting next to my girlfriend at the time, who had a penchant for being absolutely negative and horrible to me no matter what, picking a fight with me and needlessly insulting me and my friends before, during, and after the show. night ruined. i have yet to see tool again, and it sounds like that ship has sailed...

13th step, while good, didn't have the same impact that the first perfect circle record had on me (i haven't listened to it since the year it came out, when i did play it regularly on my radio show), and emotive certainly didn't sit well with me at all, for reasons that are or more or less discussed to death around here. by the time 10,000 days came around, i had (rightfully) chucked the new age bandwagon and was coming into my own in NYC. while the quality of the record certainly suffered in my opinion, i just didn't have the time of day for it from the get-go, so it remains completely ignored. i don't think i even bought it, just a download and a few half-hearted spins. i enjoyed thepuscifer song(s) on the underworld soundtrack, but have not been able to get into the band at all, though my wife LOVES them.

nowadays, i keep opiate ---> and including lateralus and mer de noms on my ipod, but rarely, if ever listen to them outside a smile and an occasional shuffle. i'm not too terribly interested in diving back into lateralus (mostly for fear that a once cherished album will make me cringe), but i do have nostalgia for the early singles i grew up with and the first perfect circle record whenever i hear them.

the end.

[frankie teardrop]

ps- why does it seem like this thread is a 12 step program or after school special?

[aggroculture]

because it's Tool, maaaaan

[Piko]

I'll always prefer APC over anything else he does. That's where I started. Tool came to me much later.

[halloween]

Mmmm, I love all his bands. There's a time and place for each one of them. Though I admit I listen to A Perfect Circle more just because I hardly find myself in a really tense enough mood for Tool. Puscifer on the other hand, it just odd and I haven't found a way of really integrating into my moods, haha. Unless I seek it out just to kicks, I haven't yet thought "Man, Puscifer would hit the spot right now." Plus, APC has more emotional ties for me.

This thread is great.

I just read frankie teardrops post and he seemed to put some of my sentiments about APC and Tool perfectly! In terms of the melodic stuff, it's what I also have more of an attraction for.

[theimage13]

Happy 50th, you crazy sonuvabitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8dBrOpUEcM

[Swykk]

10,000 Days is an abomination. Boring and derivative. A Perfect Circle is the best work Maynard has done but did end poorly (an understatement). Puscifer is the best he's done in recent memory. So mostly, I agree with Levi and Ryan. I do not really care for Maynard's apparent hatred of his fans. Sure, hate on the obsessed or uppity ones, fine but he seems to fall between hatred and indifference when it comes to those who have lined his pockets.

[aggroculture]

I miss jokey Puscifer. Conditions was way too serious and :(

[gerbil]

10,000 Days is an abomination. Boring and derivative. A Perfect Circle is the best work Maynard has done but did end poorly (an understatement). Puscifer is the best he's done in recent memory. So mostly, I agree with Levi and Ryan. I do not really care for Maynard's apparent hatred of his fans. Sure, hate on the obsessed or uppity ones, fine but he seems to fall between hatred and indifference when it comes to those who have lined his pockets.

I will pretty much always white knight Maynard when it comes to his fans. First, I think he's mellowed a little bit about opening up and interacting with fans a little.

Second, I think Maynard's pissed at how Tool had been marketed. So many people back in the day would talk about Ænima rocked and was so heavy but they really pussied out on Lateralus. Then the same bullshit when 10,000 Days came out. It's a stupid cycle and over and over Tool gets pushed as the heaviest thing ever.

Third, and I feel really passionate about this, is that Tool fans cannot seem to roll with the punches. If any of you have ever spent time in the Star Trek community you know what I mean. People can't tolerate change or accept something new or different. People who loved Undertow will passionately eviscerate Lateralus. They're just different, man. Get used to it. Don't listen to what you don't like, it's not hard.

But a lot of those fans are looking for answers. Ænima, Lateralus, and 10,000 Days are very philosophical albums in a way that Undertow wasn't explicit about.

Ænima is telling you to fuck society. Don't listen to people who want to pull you into line. Fuck the way our culture is forming and pursue "think for yourself." Lateralus is ultimately an album about setting aside anger, finding a center, and opening yourself up to new experiences.

10,000 Days doesn't do that, though. "Vicarious" tells you the world is fucked up and get over it. "Jambi" is about jeopardizing your world and never tells you how to stop. Obviously the "10,000 Days/Wings" track deal with loss and emptiness. It even says "what am I going to do now?" The rest of the album is the same way. "Right In Two" comes closest by offering a concrete viewpoint and making a solid moral judgement. It doesn't answer any questions or hint at solutions the way the other albums do.

Without putting too fine a point on it, I think that's one of the reasons a lot of people don't like the album. It's harder for the Tool Navy crowd to dissect and it doesn't offer much to the "Yeah, fuck religion and authority, man" crowd both of whom seem to be looking for doctrine from the words of a self-described misanthrope.

That's not even getting into the fans that heckle the opening bands (people threw shit at Isis when I saw them) or shouted the names of Tool songs at A Perfect Circle shows. Or the dude who shouted "fuck yeah" during "Fiddle and the Drum" on eMOTIVe Live.

I think there are a lot of people who are desperately clinging to Tool or Maynard as some kind of savior or prophet. And, honestly, you don't have too look too far to find them.

[aggroculture]

I don't understand why anyone would waste their time trying to psychoanalyze Tool fans as a group. I can't say that I relate to any of your analyses or interpretations of those albums. Tool fans have amply shown they are still here and eager for more music. I feel there's some pressure on me, as a Tool fan, to bag on Tool fans...never quite understood why. It's like Tool fans are caught between the accusation of being dumb meatheads or annoying over-intellectual geeks, but always annoying in any case. Personally I tend to get along great with all the Tool fans I know IRL. Maybe it's an internet thing...

[Wretchedest]

Don't get me wrong, I love Tool, I love APC. But Maynard is a washed up hack and a total dick. My lack of respect for them has been honed carefully over time as the reasons slowly piled on and now it's far too much to describe. It all seems to have gone in one of the worst possible directions. It's a shame.

[SM Rollinger]

I guess if were going to be bitching about Maynard, last time I saw Tool waaaaaaaay back in 06, he was sick as hell and dint sing any of the higher/more aggressive parts. So tracks like Stinkfist and FourtySix & 2 were missing half their vocals.

I dont really care if he comes across as an asshole, i think its intentional. To me he has always seemed like a fragile man, that puts on the asshole apperance to keep anybody from getting too close to him.

[armogi]

To me he has always seemed like a fragile man, that puts on the asshole apperance to keep anybody from getting too close to him.[/QUOTE]

I strongly believe that too, been watching some cobain interviews lately where he kept talking about how media scrutinized him, wrote shit about him and so on, when you see the end result I can understand why some artists dont want to be too "friendly"

[SM Rollinger]

What really drove those thoughts home, was watching Blood Into Wine. When he is talking about his mother and then later, something to the effect of, how he wasnt going to do the false-angst thing because if he wasnt being honest with himself then how could he be honest with you (the fans)? He looks right into the camera with that final part and has this super serious expression and look in his eyes that you dont see very often.

(sorry its been awhile since I saw it on Netflix which I dont have anymore. maybe somebody could provide an exact quote?)

Im going to have to play devils advocate here and defend ol Jimbo on this thread.

[The Doctor]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but think of Maynard and all of his VIP stuff with APC/Puscifer when I read this article:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/may/07/avril-lavigne-meet-and-greet-sham

[Reznor2112]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but think of Maynard and all of his VIP stuff with APC/Puscifer when I read this article:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/may/07/avril-lavigne-meet-and-greet-sham

I actually loved the Puscifer VIP experience...

[theimage13]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but think of Maynard and all of his VIP stuff with APC/Puscifer when I read this article:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/may/07/avril-lavigne-meet-and-greet-sham



No one seemed to raise the wider issue: the fact that in modern live music, you can put a price on love. And in Avril Lavigne's case, that price is £215.

What the fuck are they talking about? A "price on love"? You're putting a price on letting your fans come backstage and meet you; something fans have wanted to do since bands started playing live. Love? What the hell does that have to do with anything? You're a star; a brand; a commodity. People are paying for their chance to be a tiny little piece of that. Not love.

Back on topic...the Puscifer VIP experience looked interesting, but to this day, I haven't had the chance to go seem them because they've never played within six hours of me while I've actually been home. Had they, I still would've only been able to buy whatever the cheapest ticket was. They remain high on the list of bands I haven't seen but really want to.

[AgentofChaos]

I did get the APC meet and greet a while back, and I got what I paid for. Had I been a little more jaded, I could see myself being upset.

The wine was actually really good, and I enjoyed the tasting quite a bit. Wish I could have bought some, pretty disappointed that I couldn't. Got a signed poster, messenger bag, again, exactly what I expected.

Matt and Billy were really talkative and cool, James was a bit off, and Josh was pretty funny. Maynard walks out, does a brief circle and a half wave, you are told not to talk to him or touch him, and he walks off. I pretty much saw that coming.

The difference between that and Avril I suppose, is that Maynard has always been this recluse that doesnt do well with fan interaction (and yeah he probably shouldnt do a meet and greet where he can't even be bothered to say hello), whereas Avril is all about the videos and top 40 and part of that means you should actually interact with your fans, since it's not just about the music for her. If you were a fan of Maynard's music, you would probably expect something like that from him (right or wrong), where you likely wouldn't expect it from Avril (who is selling her package to a lot more "innocents", parents, young girls, etc). Maybe it's a double standard, I don't know.

[Tony Gordon]

I never was a big Tool fan, but I have to admit, Aenima was a very great record and I listened to that thing religiously when I was in middle school and high school. A friend that I played guitars with loved the record too and we would tune our guitars down just to jam to Eulogy and Third Eye. We didn't have any clue what we were doing and we sounded like shit, but it was a lot of fun! ;)

It's been many years since I last heard that record, but it's still like a breathe of fresh air when I hear the songs from time to time. Eulogy is hands down my favorite Tool song ever.

Then there was A Perfect Circle. I only checked them out cause Twiggy from Manson was playing Bass on Thirteenth Step and low and behold he actually sounded better on that album than anything he did with Manson. There is something up with musicians in Manson's band that drop out and then sound a million times better in other projects. John 5 certainly has put out some amazing solo records where he plays his ass off and does these bad ass guitar solos and his work with Rob Zombie has proved that Manson totally failed to utilize his talent with the guitar. I wouldn't be shocked if any of his other guitar players like Zim Zum managed to really break out as stellar musicians once they aren't held back by him anymore. Hearing John 5 shred like Steve Vai made me so pissed off that he didn't let him do any of that kind of stuff on Golden Age of Grotesque, and when I heard Thirteenth Step, I was convinced Twiggy is a better musician outside of Manson as well.
Thirteenth Step was a cool album, and it's easily my favorite thing Maynard made. I bought the Emotive record when it first came out and remember being incredibly disappointed with all those covers. They were totally half ass produced, where the only good song on there was the one Trent had involvement with: Passive. All the covers fell incredibly short. The Marvin Gaye song was god awful considering how soulful and alive What's Going On sounds on the original Motown LP, and then the Depeche Mode cover was even worse. Looking back, I still can't find an excuse for how bad Emotive disappointed me. For a cover album it was incredibly super lazy. I know at the time everyone was on the bandwagon bashing Bush, but they could have come up with a better way to get their message across besides doing a bunch of bad covers and then a shitty remix of Pet without it's bad ass bass and guitar riffs that drove the original song.

When 10,000 Days came out, I remember buying that record just for the packaging. It wouldn't have mattered who made that album, when you first seen the artwork and the 3D glasses, you were hooked - OMG THIS IS SO COOL! but listening to the album, I didn't even care for it that much. It sounded like the same old Tool. Everything I hear from them falls so short to how much I adored Aenima. I guess it's because I'm so biased and hard headed, but I have never heard anything else that came close to that record for me. At one point, that was one of the most played albums ever in my CD player growing up. It sits on the shelf next to Antichrist Superstar, The Downward Spiral, The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste and Telekon for my favorite records as a teenager.

[virushopper]

Okay I went to the Cinquanta tonight and I will not do any cross postings cause who really needs to see three threads with the same updates?
The show lasted a good 3 hours. The stage set was setup like a backyard BBQ with trailer on the side. During the show everyone who wasn't performing would sit in lawn chairs and drink wine or whatever during whoever was performance. It range the members of Puscifer, Failure, APC, random people and those two Tool guys. More on them later. Read on!

I came during the opening song, the guy next to me told me there was some documentary that was played before the show. I have no idea what it is but will find out tomorrow night.
Failure opened the show with "Nurse" with Maynard and the Puscifer crew joining in. They (Failure) play about 3 songs and then right at the end of the third song, the drummer is whisked away from the stage and out comes APC.
Weak and Powerless kicks in and they get a 3 song set. And just like Failure Jeff's APC kit is whisked away as well with only the Puscifer set on stage. Yes you guess it. Puscifer does a three song set. I'm not familiar with Puscifer's songs so send me some titles and I will look them up to confirm if the song was played or not.

After Puscifer finishes their third song, we get dun Dun DUNNNNNNN a FUCKING Intermission. I'm not sure if it lasted for 12 minutes like this recent Tool tour but it's possible.

Intermission is over, Puscifer returns back on stage and does another 3 song set. Again I don't know any of the songs. While the third song ends, the APC set comes in and we jump into the "Hollow". Now something special about this performance. The orginal version "3 Libras" is performed. Not the remix that has been played for the past several years. I know right?!?!?!?!? I was personally shocked by it. Next song is "the Packgage" with Carina on the vocals!!! Yes! She pretty much made that song ten times better! Maynard comes in the heavy part. After that, "Counting Sheeps" and "By and Down" are played. Right as "By and Down" ends I think Puscisfer comes in for another batch of songs then Failure returns to the set and they do their three songs. Now here is something interesting, during Failure's final set people started to leave their seats and use this time for bathrooms and beer run. I mean A LOT of people walked out during this part. If you were lucky during the Failure song "Daylight" you could have been the lucky ones to see Billy Howerdel and James Iha go the bathrooms on the right side of the audience seats. Yes FOR REAL! Also Danny Carey starts popping up on stage. You know just having some drinks and enjoying the show.

Okay my memory blows in this area okay. Right after Failure ends their set, Puscifer returns with that Maynard and that country girl singer in costume performing some song about fucking. Yes, I don't know Puscifer songs, sorry. Oh and Danny Carey begins drumming at this point with Jeff on the Puscifer set. They wam bam those songs and now the moment you have been waiting for.......Justin comes on stage and they perform, yep, "Sober". Maynard is still wearing his costume. Adam is nowhere to be seen. Instead of having a guitar player, some guy is playing the parts on the keyboard. After that, final song is "Green River" from Puscifer with Danny still on the drums. Justin is not here.

Yes, poor grammer and memory but hey I got the most it.

Random tidbits:
APC did NOT play "Judith"!
Jeff Friedl joined Failure on "Wet Gravity"
I think Josh Eustis was there and performed.
Carina and Matt Mcjunkins joined Failure on some track that I don't remember.
There was a moment there was some dude wearing Roman warrior suit and throwing bananas into the crowd during one of the APC sets.
People clearly did not dig Failure.
APC's set and Tool's "Sober" goes the biggest cheers of the night.
Billy Howerdel sang a Puscifer song with Maynard.

I'm too tired but I will be there tomorrow night. And good night!

[Harry Seaward]

You forgot about Three Little Pigs!!!

[Hazekiah]

I came during the opening song


http://www.quickmeme.com/img/31/31d7337f5851f7cd9c4c09c824dab3df7089328d1a44818f10 9d5f03a6fb589a.jpg

[Harry Seaward]

http://i.imgur.com/EN2W7to.jpg

Amazing.

[Ryan]

Okay I went to the Cinquanta tonight and I will not do any cross postings cause who really needs to see three threads with the same updates?
The show lasted a good 3 hours. The stage set was setup like a backyard BBQ with trailer on the side. During the show everyone who wasn't performing would sit in lawn chairs and drink wine or whatever during whoever was performance. It range the members of Puscifer, Failure, APC, random people and those two Tool guys. More on them later. Read on!

I came during the opening song, the guy next to me told me there was some documentary that was played before the show. I have no idea what it is but will find out tomorrow night.
Failure opened the show with "Nurse" with Maynard and the Puscifer crew joining in. They (Failure) play about 3 songs and then right at the end of the third song, the drummer is whisked away from the stage and out comes APC.
Weak and Powerless kicks in and they get a 3 song set. And just like Failure Jeff's APC kit is whisked away as well with only the Puscifer set on stage. Yes you guess it. Puscifer does a three song set. I'm not familiar with Puscifer's songs so send me some titles and I will look them up to confirm if the song was played or not.

After Puscifer finishes their third song, we get dun Dun DUNNNNNNN a FUCKING Intermission. I'm not sure if it lasted for 12 minutes like this recent Tool tour but it's possible.

Intermission is over, Puscifer returns back on stage and does another 3 song set. Again I don't know any of the songs. While the third song ends, the APC set comes in and we jump into the "Hollow". Now something special about this performance. The orginal version "3 Libras" is performed. Not the remix that has been played for the past several years. I know right?!?!?!?!? I was personally shocked by it. Next song is "the Packgage" with Carina on the vocals!!! Yes! She pretty much made that song ten times better! Maynard comes in the heavy part. After that, "Counting Sheeps" and "By and Down" are played. Right as "By and Down" ends I think Puscisfer comes in for another batch of songs then Failure returns to the set and they do their three songs. Now here is something interesting, during Failure's final set people started to leave their seats and use this time for bathrooms and beer run. I mean A LOT of people walked out during this part. If you were lucky during the Failure song "Daylight" you could have been the lucky ones to see Billy Howerdel and James Iha go the bathrooms on the right side of the audience seats. Yes FOR REAL! Also Danny Carey starts popping up on stage. You know just having some drinks and enjoying the show.

Okay my memory blows in this area okay. Right after Failure ends their set, Puscifer returns with that Maynard and that country girl singer in costume performing some song about fucking. Yes, I don't know Puscifer songs, sorry. Oh and Danny Carey begins drumming at this point with Jeff on the Puscifer set. They wam bam those songs and now the moment you have been waiting for.......Justin comes on stage and they perform, yep, "Sober". Maynard is still wearing his costume. Adam is nowhere to be seen. Instead of having a guitar player, some guy is playing the parts on the keyboard. After that, final song is "Green River" from Puscifer with Danny still on the drums. Justin is not here.

Yes, poor grammer and memory but hey I got the most it.

Random tidbits:
APC did NOT play "Judith"!
Jeff Friedl joined Failure on "Wet Gravity"
I think Josh Eustis was there and performed.
Carina and Matt Mcjunkins joined Failure on some track that I don't remember.
There was a moment there was some dude wearing Roman warrior suit and throwing bananas into the crowd during one of the APC sets.
People clearly did not dig Failure.
APC's set and Tool's "Sober" goes the biggest cheers of the night.
Billy Howerdel sang a Puscifer song with Maynard.

I'm too tired but I will be there tomorrow night. And good night!

Wow that sounds amazing.

Has a complete, proper set list been posted anywhere yet?

[Ryan]

http://i.imgur.com/EN2W7to.jpg

Amazing.


Asaaaand you beat me to it!

[Ryan]

What's 3 Little Pigs?

Which Puscifer song did Billy sing?

Did Carina sing 3 Libras since her name is next to it on the set list posted above?

[barkhammer]

What's 3 Little Pigs?

Which Puscifer song did Billy sing?

Did Carina sing 3 Libras since her name is next to it on the set list posted above?

3 Little Pigs would be the Green Jello song that Maynard "sang" on.

You know, the "not by the hair of my chinny, chin chin!" part :D

[RJK]

What's 3 Little Pigs?

Which Puscifer song did Billy sing?

Did Carina sing 3 Libras since her name is next to it on the set list posted above?

According to Mat Mitchell's instagram it was Monsoons.

[scotty79]

There was a moment there was some dude wearing Roman warrior suit and throwing bananas into the crowd during one of the APC sets.



Going by Maynards Instagram that dude was Danny lohner

[ManBurning]

Hope a recording of this show surfaces. Sounded like a great show. I like how they alternated bands by playing 3 songs each and changing bands. That's a good idea instead of blowing through one bands entire set and the next comes on.

[virushopper]

Cinquanta Night 2 report.

More or less it was the same show from last night with a few exceptions:
APC, Puscifer and Failure dropped some songs for other songs. (No "Judith" APC fans)
No Tool song on tonight's set. No Justin either.
Some dude dressed up as Paul Stanley in full costume, boots and make up.
Maynard's son appeared on stage and did a solo on that one giant looking violin instrument. (The name escapes me).
Maynard's son also joined with Puscifer and Danny Carey on "Humbling River".

So there you have it.

[Harry Seaward]

Did he introduce Devo (his son) to come on-stage? That's interesting, first time that's happened as far as I know.

[ManBurning]

Here's a good quality video from youtube of Sober:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRej1hh7kU

And here's "3 little pigs"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7dsIJRNRT4

Guy claims he got 90% of the show but missed Failure's opening set.

[virushopper]

Did he introduce Devo (his son) to come on-stage? That's interesting, first time that's happened as far as I know.
No actually, Devo just came onto the stage and Maynard says "This is my son".

[Hazekiah]

Does anyone else feel kinda cheated that they had a Roman Centurion onstage but DIDN'T play "Judith"...?

Haaa.

But, still.

People need to fucking TELL ME about shit like this early enough for me to be there so I can film it, damnit.

You all FAIL.

: P

[RJK]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/12/dyveryva.jpg

I will lose my mind if APC really played the alt lyrics version of Orestes!

As far as Judith, i don't think Maynard wants to sing songs about his dead mother. Not saying he right or wrong, just stating a fact.

edit: no Orestes alt lyrics version last night. Sad me.

[theimage13]

Lengthy review that makes me want to hate every single person that got to witness the event:

http://www.mxdwn.com/2014/05/11/reviews/country-crown-and-throne-cinquanta-a-perfect-circle-puscifer-and-failure-live-at-the-greek-theatre/

[virushopper]

^Thanks man.

[october_midnight]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79kVk1xKKQE

[Toadflax]

I was at night 2 of the Cinquanta madness. So fucking incredible. Devo is a cello maniac.

[Toadflax]

Oh, shit, also: The Package with Carina Round and Maynard sharing vocal duties may be the best thing ever.

[dvdglss]

Oh, shit, also: The Package with Carina Round and Maynard sharing vocal duties may be the best thing ever.
I hope video of this shows up somewhere!

[Ryan]

Was it Carina who sang on 3 Libras, or?

[virushopper]

Was it Carina who sang on 3 Libras, or?
Only parts of it.

[The Doctor]

Did anybody who was there notice if there was a film crew? It would be a tragedy is this was never released for everyone else to enjoy...

[theimage13]

Did anybody who was there notice if there was a film crew? It would be a tragedy is this was never released for everyone else to enjoy...

I will eat my own excrement if this receives a professional video release.

[RJK]

This will have to do for now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGNWG-JLXo

[virushopper]

Did anybody who was there notice if there was a film crew? It would be a tragedy is this was never released for everyone else to enjoy...
I don't know if there was a film crew but there were mounted cameras on the stage (a fixture in the venue) to telecast the footage onto the two big screens.

There was no camera crane or camera guys on stage when the band was performing.

Hopefully someone in the AV department of the venue was smart enough to hit the record button.

[Reznor2112]

This will have to do for now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGNWG-JLXo


Damn…copyright claim muted the audio

[RJK]

Damn…copyright claim muted the audio

I downloaded it earlier today. It's on my laptop at home. I will see what I can do about distribution.

[theimage13]

I downloaded it earlier today. It's on my laptop at home. I will see what I can do about distribution.

Whole thing has been pulled - what was it?

[RJK]

Whole thing has been pulled - what was it?
It was everything except the first 3 Failure songs.

[theimage13]

It was everything except the first 3 Failure songs.

Well damn...if you do decide to distribute, I (and I'm sure most others here) would be very grateful to see that.

[theimage13]

In response to the article about why new Tool material has been so slow and why it will continue to be so...

Don't care.

Honestly, I really like what he's been doing with Puscifer. And APC. So frankly, if he just keeps making music under any project, I'm probably going to be happy.

[gerbil]

Well damn...if you do decide to distribute, I (and I'm sure most others here) would be very grateful to see that.

I will second that.

[scotty79]

Thought this was more relevant in here and don't think I've seen any conformation anywhere else about Maynard writing a biography

http://instagram.com/p/rj4D8tKKBE/

[Dr Channard]

MJK is an all around entertaining guy and a damn fine musician.

As far as tool goes I’d say their 90s stuff is gold. Their 2000’s stuff I can respect but am not much into.

APC felt like it started with a bang and ended with a whimper.

I don’t listen to Puscifer often, but when I do it usually puts a smile on my face.

I guess this wasn’t much of a rant.

[heavenly_bearded]

^^^
I'm happy you dug this thread back up :)

Anyone know if Maynard has a collection of wigs? I'd love to see it...

[Dr Channard]

…as well as his personal assortment of false mustaches purchased from quarter machines.

http://i62.tinypic.com/6qe5hf.jpg

[aggroculture]

I was looking at my Puscifer CDs the other day
and I don't think the rape humor on Conditions of My Parole is funny at all.

[theimage13]

http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Union-Contrary-Things/dp/1495024423

May as well post this here in the hopes that book discussion can be kept to the topic of the author and not a particular band.

[theimage13]

http://www.target.com/p/perfect-union-of-contrary-things-hardcover-maynard-james-keenan/-/A-51640224

If anyone has Target's credit card (and thus, free shipping), this is a solid $6 less than Amazon's price for the pre-order.

[SM Rollinger]

wurst musician evar

[Krazy]

wurst musician evar

http://packerstalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/the-wurst-3.png

[gerbil]

I was looking at my Puscifer CDs the other day
and I don't think the rape humor on Conditions of My Parole is funny at all.

Wait what


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[heavenly_bearded]

Wait what
He has needs... Like I do...

[aggroculture]

Wait what


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've explained it here: http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/threads/53-Puscifer?p=295874

[gerbil]

I've explained it here: http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/threads/53-Puscifer?p=295874

I guess I need the rapey-ness spelled out for me more clearly. I'm usually pretty in tune with that stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SM Rollinger]

Facepalm? And I thought this was the rant thread...

[gerbil]

I literally have no idea what rape has to do with CoMP


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[botley]

I literally have no idea what rape has to do with CoMP
I can only surmise that @aggroculture (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=318) was referring the nametag that Maynard's hick character wears in the inner sleeve artwork's prison cell photo, which says "Hello! My name is FLETCHER'S BITCH". For me, it's a funny pic because he's holding paper for the dude squatting over the toilet behind his shoulder, not because of any implication that rape occurred.

[gerbil]

Ahh, I see. I can see how that's borderline and probably across the line for a lot of people.


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[botley]

I personally feel that, even as a title, Donkey Punch the Night is far more unsettling, but I'd never have a go at people who find it funny. Maynard certainly isn't the first to use a beyond-disgusting juvenile turn of phrase metaphorically. It's possible to have a sense of humour in artistic expression that extends beyond the boundaries of what is appropriate in common discourse. Then again, this stuff is going to impact certain people adversely, so I don't know what the responsibility is on the artist's part. But — I swear to God — if "lighten up, Pope Francis" is all the retort that you can offer, please don't bother.

[aggroculture]

He's a prison bitch, with lipstick on and a black eye, and...it's funny because he's merely handing his cellmate the toilet paper?
The artwork to me is an extended rape joke about this macho hick character in prison being raped.
The All Re-Mixed Up cover continues the joke when it shows him switched places with the wife, "feminized."
There's likely an in-joke reference to "Prison Sex" here. But to me it comes across cheap and ugly, which is probably the point.
Unlike "Prison Sex" however I can't see any ulterior or redemptive aspect to it.

As for Donkey Punch the Night, I don't know what it might refer to beyond the rapey joke: scanning the lyrics to Dear Brother, it also seems like some kind of in-joke.

[theimage13]

If anyone who wanted A Perfect Union of Contrary Things still hasn't bought it, Target has free shipping on all orders and 20% off all books today, meaning it's $15.59 (+tax) for the book. Cheapest I've ever seen it.