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Faceplams: Money? yes.Originally Posted by PhoenixML
Just tickles my balls!
Money? yes.
Active Member
If you guys don’t want the art piece, don’t buy it. You’re not adding anything of value to this thread.
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Administrator
I'm just happy that for once they simply announced it without stupid misleading teasers and countdowns.
Matador de Froot Loops
Just like TOOL is not adding anything of value to their career *ZING*
Throbbing Member
Things I would love to share:
- I don't think Maynard is a dick. I think he is fucking wholesome! A true inspiration to do good deeds and be the best of yourself. I'm not there yet.
- Fear Inoculum is my favorite album.
- I thought 3 years between a tour was somehow "too soon". I mean, compared to 13 years. I wish to see all of Fear Inoculum live. Pandemic is over, maybe one day.
- If 10000 Days gets release in vinyl, I will buy it on day one. Lateralus "not picture disc" too.
- I love Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, love both latest albums Existential Reckoning and Eat the Elephant
- I unfortunately don't listen to Untertow. I mean, I wish I would love it, it would be another Tool album to listen to, but I can't force myself.
- Importing merch costs so much! Tickets too while we are at it.
Last edited by PhoenixML; 03-23-2023 at 10:15 AM.
Active Member
1. I don’t think Maynard’s a dick, either. I think he hates having to deal with people who are so far up their own asses that they can’t appreciate his music for what it is. A cursory glance at ToolNavy should make you understand why.
2. Same
3. Eh
4. Same
5. Same. Existential Reckoning is in the running for my favorite album.
6. I go back and forth. Honestly, I find Ćnima their weakest album overall. Mostly because of the shifting styles between songs written with Justin and Paul. The good songs on it are absolutely incredible, though.
7. I’m glad I don’t have to import merch but jfc I can only imagine.
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(Unused symbol)
Come on, no one said anything offensive. They can pick and choose what they want to put their effort towards and how to monetize the results of that effort. I don't begrudge them for that, even if the product isn't for me. Make money.
I'm just here waiting for the opportunity to buy their catalog for a third time...and of course anything new when that comes around.
Active Member
I guess I think that the older Tool fans have forgotten how eager we were to gobble up merchandise when we were new to them. I also feel like a lot of us are disconnected from stuff like the fetus sculpture as a piece of art. It’s not a money grab or anything, IMO. It’s a collaborative piece of art.
I have no problem with them making merch (although I think the shirt blankets are tacky af).
Tool is kinda like a MCU where there’s just stuff in the orbit that all connects. Justin’s signature bass pedal, Adam’s signature guitars, etc. Maynard, of course, spun off.
I’m at the point where I don’t care. I love the music. I don’t think I’m ever going to take more music from the band for granted. So I don’t care about their countdowns anymore.
I’ll buy the catalog on vinyl. I’ll buy more remastered stuff. I’ll buy new music or live stuff. I don’t regret buying Opiate^2 and I think it’s awesome that they’re revisiting stuff like that. If any band should, it’s Tool.
Anyway, I’m a curmudgeon and I’d love to come to this thread talking about neat stuff we have in common as fans. Instead 1/3 of the updates I get are people upset about merch.
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Matador de Froot Loops
Loved that and i would like to share this too:
- Maynard is a troll (not a dick), in the same way of Mike Patton, they are brilliant guys that hate media, they just have a huge sense of humor and irony and their fans sometimes don't get it.
- I loved "Fear Inoculum", not my favorite, but it's really good, i just don't get why it took 13 years, but whatever, as long as they are making music i'm happy.
- I don't "hate" their sculptures or merch, actually i would love one fetus skull, i just don't get why they have to announce them as this big deal, like they are releasing a new album, that's just trolling.
- At this point all those announcements and "waits" have just became a meme and the band knows it, that's why they troll, it's cool, but they deserve to be trolled in return...
- I would love to see them play live again, last time i saw them was a terrible experience (not because of them), i don't want this to be the only time i get to see them live.
Last edited by henryeatscereal; 03-24-2023 at 12:58 PM.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
Could've gone in the Primus thread, but this is the one I saw first.
RA-MEN ROPPAI
I've sort of come around on the Fetus Skull but only slightly. It may be intended as "art", but it looks like something you purchase at FYE for $200 ($300 with fancy box). In my opinion, the base dulls any artistic luster the skull/fetus portion might emanate. That being said, I honestly don't have a spot that would truly show off the piece as it was intended. I own a skull (half the price of the TOOL piece), but I'm not trying to setup a display like I'm a doctor or a serial killer.
BADGERS
Being a money grab and a collaborative piece of art are in no way mutually exclusive. You can paint the intentions of the band as profit driven without meaning it to deride them. Since they are the kind of band with fans that will buy that sort of thing I don't really blame them for selling it, but if you're a fan that's really only interested in the actual music itself and there's a routine emphasis on physical products, especially those aimed at collectors or big spenders, there is certainly a point where those products can feel like they're crowding out the music and it can be pretty annoying, even if it's not actually technically true.
That's my experience of it, anyway. The only way I'm really interested in interacting with this band is by listening to their music, so when I come to this thread, the only place I really care to get any tool news at all, and any news always seems to revolve around some kind of physical product, and almost never around any kind of new music developments, it paints a certain image of the band, for sure.
Stubby Member
I'm sure I've said something like this before in this thread, but Tool fans and the kinds of people Tool are often poking fun at in their lyrics are one and the same.
Active Member
I mean...AndItKeepsRepeating lol
Active Member
Official video
Active Member
When I went to Record Store Day here they said "all of the RSD releases are on the shelf at eye level" and the very first one on the very first shelf was a Tool release - I can't remember which one at this exact moment and Discogs isn't helping - and it was very nice looking. The rainbow / holographic effect on the eyes was pretty cool and I was thinking, "wait, this wasn't on the RSD sheet...was it?"
I mean I thought for a minute about the info earlier in this thread about new releases coming and maybe that's what this was but then I realized that it wouldn't be a small announcement and poof it's in stores (I mean, this ain't the Sega Saturn) and that's what got me to realize...it was a bootleg. A very nice looking one to be sure but wow.
Stubby Member
One thing I think people are forgetting is that Adam is an artist, and his artwork has always been a big, big, BIG part of Tool. It was his day job when Tool was just a hobby. His interest in art and being an artist show up in different facets of the band: their album artwork, music videos, merch, posters, and stage show. All that was a much bigger part of how to interact with and be a fan of a band back in the day. The Sober video in particular was a big part of setting the band on track to be as successful as they ultimately became. His interest in art is also a motivation in the band's collaborations with Alex Grey, and likely a big factor in why he even plays music and is in a band to begin with.
Me, personally, I am not very interested in art. It's just not my thing. But it's not AT ALL weird for an artist to have overpriced art pieces for sale. They are only really marketed to artistic types, obsessive die-hards, and people with way too much money to spend. Tool fans have a strange tendency to take this kind of thing way too personally. Bands having merch or artists selling things that don't have any practical use for crazy prices, none of that is weird at all or limited to Tool. If you're only interested in when the next album is coming out, you don't have to check Toolband all the time hoping for an announcement. I don't. You'll hear about it. Don't worry.
(Unused symbol)
I don't think anyone here is forgetting that but you know what's a bigger part of Tool? The music. And people have been clamoring for official (and decent, non-picture disc) vinyl pressings of the back catalog for years. Now, I know doing it right takes time and I'd rather them do it right rather than rush it. But in the meantime, they'd be better served by skipping the cloak and dagger act and skipping the trolling about vinyl. Instead say "we're working on it and you, the fan, won't be disappointed." The cat's out of the bag at this point after whoever it was blabbed on whateverthehell podcast. In the end, it's their band and they can operate the business how they see fit but they (probably Maynard) could choose to navigate a less adversarial route with the fanbase.
In the end, the skulls aren't for me...if [the royal] you are into it? "God bless" in a very Tony Soprano voice.
(Unused symbol)
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/se...come-rockville
Well done, Maynard.
Active Member
I half expect the follow-through to be "well he didn't mean it in a sexual manner" so they can skirt the enforcement of the law.
(Unused symbol)
Nothing sexual about a couple of drag queens reading books to kids at the library but I get your point and you're probably right. Maybe he did some egregious hip thrusts or something.
Stubby Member
Yeah, but those high-beams were on.
Throbbing Member
He talked about it during his Steve-O interview on how he was trying out the costume and his wife, half-surprised, helped him out cause he had not idea how to put it on (or something like that)
Administrator
was she there back in 1997 when he was sporting the boobs and geisha makeup for lollapolooza? i’d think it was like riding a bicycle for him.
Active Member
He did say technology and prosthetics are more advanced today, so I think that's why he needed help: https://themessenger.com/news/tool-s...o-with-florida
Just tickles my balls!
“Honey, help me put mah boobs awn!”
Maynard’s neighbours: …
Active Member
I actually felt like Maynard's response to the uproar over his cross-dressing at that festival was tone deaf, not helpful at all, another example of his true colors, ignorant of the moment & proof that the guy is no ally:
“It’s pretty crazy the technology and the prosthetics nowadays, how they’ve come along, and I just was considering bringing the look back. And that’s really all there is to it. I’m not a political fella — had nothing to do with Florida. It’s amazing to me how every single thing you say or do is twisted and conformed into some fundamentalist far-right or far-left agenda.”
Of course, all this is very on brand for him as well. Way to not meet the moment...at all.
Active Member
Maynard’s always been weird about “politics.” I think maybe partially because he carries a worldview where politics is literally political parties and legislation. He’s never been shy about talking about social politics. At the Puscifer show in MI last year he commented on the Dobbs decision by saying “They fucked around and they’re gonna find out.”
I disagree with a lot of what he seems to say off-the-cuff about actual political policy. But he does seem to treat “the human experience” differently than “politics” and he has a hippie streak that’s “can’t we all get along?” that’s simultaneously inspiring but hilariously naďve in the current social climate.
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Throbbing Member
100%. When I first saw the headlines I was like wow did Maynard actually do something cool, and then I saw his statement disregarding any political readings and both-sides-ing the modern political spectrum (while simultaneously admitting that limiting access to drag shows is absurd, because I guess he's willing to criticize reactionary right wing politics as long as he's conveniently omitting what a specifically right wing phenomenon it is) and remembered why I pretty much stopped caring about this guy as an artist past high school. That he is using the fact he has dressed in drag for years to downplay the act having any political implications, especially in this time and place, would almost be funny if it wasn't so obnoxious. But hey, don't want to alienate any of those InfoWars Tool fans when they put out their limited edition Tool lava lamp bong and limited edition Tool fine art sculpture of an open sphincter muscle with teeth.
Active Member
I hesitate to post this because I don't want to start any arguments, but I feel that Maynard (like Lars Ulrich and Billy Corgan, to a lesser extent) gets hated on more than he actually deserves.
I personally didn't really find anything wrong with what he said. While I would definitely commend him for making a statement in support of LGBTQ+ rights or an anti-DeSantis statement (because I really, really hate that guy), I can't blame him for wanting to stay out of it. Why does he NEED to be an "ally," why can't it just be about the music for him? Maybe he (or even one or more of the other band members?) would prefer to remain neutral and doesn't want to get too political and divide his fanbase, likely losing a good chunk of them (though it would be the intolerant & transphobic ones, so he probably wouldn't care, but probably still bad for business). They're not Rage Against the Machine, maybe Maynard just wants to be a singer, not a political spokesperson. And if that's the case, is that really so bad? He's likely not going to change anyone's mind anyway. I get that these are very important issues and in Florida, people's rights are being taken away, but can you honestly imagine any far-right, transphobic republicans reading or hearing Maynard's thoughts on the matter and abandoning their bigoted views as a result? I'm going to say no. Would it have been nice to see him try? Yes, but it would be an exercise in futility that would only serve to please his fans on the left, while angering his fans on the right; it more than likely would not bring about any actual, meaningful change.
He's definitely right that — for famous people, especially — "every single thing you say or do is twisted and conformed into some fundamentalist far-right or far-left agenda" (though the right is guilty of this far more often than the left). Despite the fact that the guy has been occasionally cross-dressing onstage for decades, I saw TONS of people online assuming that he was making a statement and either celebrating him for it or hating on him and bashing him for it, depending on their political stance. Hell, within 24 hours of Tool playing at Welcome to Rockville, I saw someone on Facebook post a meme where they had Photoshopped Maynard onto a six-pack of Bud Light. It's undeniably true that people (not just music publications using it for clickbait, but certainly PLENTY of that, too) jump to conclusions and twist his words to fit an agenda of some kind. Still, Maynard probably should have seen this coming, given what has been happening in Florida lately. Hell, the timing of this and the fact that it was in Florida even had me thinking it might be his own way of being defiant and criticizing the "Don't Say Gay" bill. But Tool has never really been an openly political band, so why should they start now? I think when it comes to Tool performing onstage, they just want it to be about the music and the spectacle, not preaching politics to people who already have their minds made up (especially in a festival environment in Florida).
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