Tool

[Goldfoot]

Wow, Goldfoot, what a post! I think we have to define filler. I definitely wouldn't count something like Eon Blue Apocalypse or Parabol filler, those are actually some of my favorite parts of that album. I was referring to the minutes filled up with weird sounds. Mainly towards the end of it. I guess your point still stands though. I like all of the albums, and as I said earlier, I think Lateralus has the best individual tracks. For me personally, Aenima is a stronger album. I guess maybe I wouldn't put 10,000 Days ahead of Lateralus now that I had to give it some thought. They can share the silver medal.

I'm pretty passionate about Tool's music, hehe. Plus it gave me an excuse to try out the fancy new table function. I actually calculated the time for Lateralus counting Eon as filler, just in case. I mean, it's not necessary, but I love the way it transitions into The Patient. For me I guess there's fillers and then there's segues. Ænima has more filler than segues, while Lateralus has little to no filler (apart from Faaip), and 10,000 Days has tracks that double as filler and segues.

Ænima - The only two I'd count as segues on this one are Useful Idiot and Intermission. Maybe it's because of how much I've listened to the album, but I quite like how H. and Forty Six & 2 are joined by Useful Idiot. Intermission is just neat and when actually listened to, it is a nice set up for the melody of Jimmy. Message, Die Eier, Cesarro, and Ions are all basically worthless in terms of value to the album. Die Eier is neat in a novelty sort of way, but it's along the lines of what they typically put at the end of the album. I think it's out of place in the middle and it should probably be after Third Eye. I really like this album, but it doesn't seem to be as cohesive to me as Lateralus.

Lateralus - I'm particularly partial to this album because it helped me out of an extended period of depression. I won't go into that now, but the only thing I'd really call filler on here is Mantra. Well, Faaip is too, but I tend to think of their closing tracks in a different light than their typical filler or segue. I think this is a really great album because all of the songs deal with personal growth, in one way or another. In that way, it has more of a theme than the other albums. Well, maybe not Undertow, but I was never all that fond of Undertow. I mean, I like it, but I don't listen to it nearly as much as the following three.

10,000 Days - As with Lateralus, there's not much here I would really call filler. The first track that could be called that is Lipan, but I don't think that's very fair. I think it creates a good atmosphere to lead into Lost Keys. With the droning in the background of Lost Keys, I can see people calling this filler, but I think it is a good segue between Lipan and Rosetta. The Lipan Apache are desert dwelling natives, and the chant in Conjuring seems like something that would occur in a ceremony laced with psychadelics. Then Rosetta tells the tale of a drugged out UFO chaser encountering aliens. I think Lost Keys fits nicely in the middle, explaining what happened after Rosetta. Other than that, I can't see what else could be considered filler except Viginti, but I explained my feelings toward Tool's ending tracks.

[Emil Dorbell]

Lateralus - I'm particularly partial to this album because it helped me out of an extended period of depression. I won't go into that now, but the only thing I'd really call filler on here is Mantra. Well, Faaip is too, but I tend to think of their closing tracks in a different light than their typical filler or segue. I think this is a really great album because all of the songs deal with personal growth, in one way or another. In that way, it has more of a theme than the other albums. Well, maybe not Undertow, but I was never all that fond of Undertow. I mean, I like it, but I don't listen to it nearly as much as the following three.

What's so damn impressive about the lyrical content on Lateralus is how I find myself going back to it and understanding more and more as the years go by and I learn more about psychology, philosophy, and life in general. I had a few months this spring of drifting off from reality, after taking in way too many new ideas, expanding on my understanding of this life (and beyond), space, etc. A major help in getting back to the surface was clinging to this: "Feed my will to feel this moment."

I'm sure as I get older, with more experiences behind me, I'll revisist these lyrics and once again see them in a whole new light.

There are few bands you can say that about.

I also had a revelation that the people I admire and like listening to, Joe Rogan, Tool, Hicks, all have something in common: Psychedelics! :P

[Harry Seaward]

I also had a revelation that the people I admire and like listening to, Joe Rogan, Tool, Hicks, all have something in common: Psychedelics! :P

I'd love to hear one of the guys in the band go on Rogan's podcast and talk about 'life and the universe and stuff, man.'

[Emil Dorbell]

I'd love to hear one of the guys in the band go on Rogan's podcast and talk about 'life and the universe and stuff, man.'

I guess you're being a sarcastic douche but I would enjoy the hell out of an episode like that.

[Pemulis]

Ænima has some great songs but to me is pretty much ruined as an album thanks to all the filler.

I wouldn't consider anything on Lateralus filler save for the final track, which I deleted and do not listen to. It might as well not exist on the album for me.

I don't think 10,000 Days has a lot of filler, even if as far as I'm concerned Rosetta Stoned might as well be because of how much it sucks. I don't find silly music, or music about aliens enjoyable which is why I vehemently anathematize that song. 10,000 days has its moments but those moments do not compare to the highs of Lateralus or Ænima and the stuff dragging the album down is worse than even the most annoying filler on Ænima in my opinion.

[seasonsinthesky]

the filler track lengths on Ænima add up almost exactly to the length of their "No Quarter" cover (which, admittedly, includes excess silence at the end), which was recorded during the sessions for that album (but then finished and released afterward, obviously; also obviously, this doesn't include the segues that were left off Ænima and used for Salival). NUGGETZ

[please don't go layer the segue tracks on top of "No Quarter" and then talk about how they make a secret song that works perfectly.]

10,000 Days - As with Lateralus, there's not much here I would really call filler. The first track that could be called that is Lipan, but I don't think that's very fair. I think it creates a good atmosphere to lead into Lost Keys. With the droning in the background of Lost Keys, I can see people calling this filler, but I think it is a good segue between Lipan and Rosetta. The Lipan Apache are desert dwelling natives, and the chant in Conjuring seems like something that would occur in a ceremony laced with psychadelics. Then Rosetta tells the tale of a drugged out UFO chaser encountering aliens. I think Lost Keys fits nicely in the middle, explaining what happened after Rosetta. Other than that, I can't see what else could be considered filler except Viginti, but I explained my feelings toward Tool's ending tracks.

"Lipan" is most certainly a 'filler' segue, à la those on Ænima (and very reminiscent of the extremely quiet transition between "Bottom" and "Crawl Away"). regardless of any "atmosphere" it creates, it is not necessitated by any other tracks. however, by this definition, "Lost Keys" cannot be filler, as it is a necessary and integral piece of "Rosetta Stoned" (it sets the scene).

i'm not nearly as solid in my opinion with "Intension" and "Right in Two." i look at them as separate songs, but Tool rarely make songs transition directly unless they are meant to be together...

slightly off this topic: anyone ever heard the perspective of "Rosetta" being about the tale of someone ODing? i heard it from a friend recently and i really don't think it adds up at all.

[Harry Seaward]

slightly off this topic: anyone ever heard the perspective of "Rosetta" being about the tale of someone ODing? i heard it from a friend recently and i really don't think it adds up at all.

ODing as in the blue-green Jackie Chan and all that is a near-death experience?

I don't think you can OD on X, DMT, or donuts. I figured it was just a DMT trip.

[Harry Seaward]

Tool Tour 2012.

Tool will be playing in Tucson, AZ (Jan 17) and Albuquerque, NM (Jan 18).

Tickets go on sale (Ticketbastard) on Friday, Dec 16.

Enjoy, you lucky fucks.

[Goldfoot]

I don't find silly music, or music about aliens enjoyable

Thus suggests to me that you're fairly familiar with music about aliens, which makes me curious. The only other song that comes to mind for me is Weird Al's Slime Creatures From Outer Space but, as you said, you don't like silly music so I doubt you know that one. I know it's off topic, but what else are you referring to?

i'm not nearly as solid in my opinion with "Intension" and "Right in Two." i look at them as separate songs, but Tool rarely make songs transition directly unless they are meant to be together...

I see them as going together because Right In Two seems to illustrate how humans behave after becoming self-aware, albeit from the perspective of angels. In Intension, humans "move by will alone." This is very animalistic to me, and suggests that we don't have the ability to think at anywhere close to the level we do now. In Right In Two there's the line, "Father blessed them all with reason, and this is what they choose." Whether you believe God gave us the ability or not, the song is an outsider's perspective of the human race once we had that ability. To me the songs are like a before and after picture.

slightly off this topic: anyone ever heard the perspective of "Rosetta" being about the tale of someone ODing? i heard it from a friend recently and i really don't think it adds up at all.

ODing as in the blue-green Jackie Chan and all that is a near-death experience?

I don't think you can OD on X, DMT, or donuts. I figured it was just a DMT trip.

Don't forget LSD (blotter), though it takes a lot to OD on that. You can OD on X (MDMA), but I'm not sure about DMT. Also, it's probably easier to do so when mixing all of those.

Enjoy, you lucky fucks.

If that's true, and you don't include a source so I don't believe it as of now, I have no doubt it's going to be basically the same set and show they've done the past...three(?) tours.

[Harry Seaward]

If that's true, and you don't include a source so I don't believe it as of now, I have no doubt it's going to be basically the same set and show they've done the past...three(?) tours.

Whoops, sorry about that.

...

According to Ticketmaster, they no longer are playing those shows. The tickets were there all day, but now they're not appearing... Check Fourtheye to see that I didn't make this up.

Also, keep refreshing this. http://www.ticketmaster.com/Tool-tickets/artist/720703

[Goldfoot]

According to Ticketmaster, they no longer are playing those shows. The tickets were there all day, but now they're not appearing... Check Fourtheye to see that I didn't make this up.

Also, keep refreshing this. http://www.ticketmaster.com/Tool-tickets/artist/720703

Oh, yeah I guess you did say that they were on Ticketmaster, but as they are not there now, that isn't reason enough to believe that it is true. IMDB constantly has wrong information about movies that are in development. I'm not saying Ticketmaster is full of user submitted content like IMDB, but IMDB is a pretty good source and, to my understanding, they are supposed to check their info before posting it. It seems to me Ticketmaster should have the same kind of standards.

[Pemulis]

Thus suggests to me that you're fairly familiar with music about aliens, which makes me curious. The only other song that comes to mind for me is Weird Al's Slime Creatures From Outer Space but, as you said, you don't like silly music so I doubt you know that one. I know it's off topic, but what else are you referring to?

Well, since we're on a Nine Inch Nails board a good example would be Year Zero. All of the talk about "The Presence", while perhaps not quite the image of alien most people conjure up, it was close enough. I enjoyed a lot of the music on that album but the subject matter was a huge turn off.

[Harry Seaward]

the subject matter was a huge turn off.

What exactly did you not enjoy about it?

[Pemulis]

What exactly did you not enjoy about it?

Pretty much all of it, really. Very little of the story resonated with me.

Concepts albums are pretty hard to do right anyway and as I said I don't find aliens very good subject matter for music. Politics either for that matter. The former comes off as hokey, the latter preachy and I don't appreciate either quality.

[|mando|]

Tool Tour 2012.

Tool will be playing in Tucson, AZ (Jan 17) and Albuquerque, NM (Jan 18).

Tickets go on sale (Ticketbastard) on Friday, Dec 16.

Enjoy, you lucky fucks.

Going to the ABQ show (if ticket buying proves successful at least)! At last, someone is actually playing here instead of skipping over NM.

Local radio promoted the 'announcement' a lot, and tickets will go on sale on livenation they said, pretty sure. Will be checking both sites though.

EDIT: Livenation and Ticketmaster are merged now? Jesus.

[Harry Seaward]

I agree with pretty much everything Mister Squishy said about Rosetta Stoned. I think it's easily the best song from 10,000 Days and definitely one of Tool's best. To take it at face value and write it off as a silly song about aliens seems to be a huge mistake. Sure, the lyrical content might not be as complex or 'serious' (for lack of a better word) as the rest of Tool's catalog, but I don't think it's simply a song about hallucinogens and aliens. Like any work of art, it's meant to be taken as a metaphor. Tool's other music is usually a complex metaphor for something more simple. I think Rosetta Stoned is unique in the fact that it's a simple metaphor (not simple meaning it's easy to decipher, but simple meaning the way in which the metaphor is articulated isn't as complex as Tool's other lyrical content) for something more serious.

Or maybe we're just over-thinking it and it's really about one of the guys doing DMT and a recollection of his trip. Either way, it's a fucking rocking song. Lyrics aside, the musicianship on that song is beautiful.

[somewhatdamaged]

The was some talk about fillers before in this thread...

It's funny because I when I bought Lateralus and 10,000 Days, I couldn't stand the extra lead-in tracks, after two or three listens I burnt my own CD (like I used to all of the time) with those extras subtracted. And to me, man, It was so much better for me. I consider Lateralus and 10,000 both really strong albums, but then again, I am only listening to the songs not the lead-in tracks or fillers. I almost forgot some of the songs you mentioned until someone listed them (Lost Keys, Mantra, Faaip, etc...)

[Wretchedest]

WTF, Rosetta Stoned is an awesome song... and I love the lead in. It's a song about getting lost on acid with pretty good musicianship, why ask it to be something different? Seems par for the course for a band that's gone psychadelic rock.

[blackholesun]

Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been merged for quite some time.

My interested in Tool has waned over the years. I'm interested to hear what a new album would sound like at the very least. I loved 10,000 Days when it came out but I was also 17. It's not that great of an album but I do like Rosetta Stoned. Seeing Tool live was okay but their "fans" made it less than bearable.

[Harry Seaward]

My love for this band may be irrational, but isn't that the point of art?

[Goldfoot]

My love for this band may be irrational, but isn't that the point of art?

Are you suggesting that this video is a reason you shouldn't like the band?

[Harry Seaward]

Are you suggesting that this video is a reason you shouldn't like the band?

No, just saying I really, really love Tool. Maybe too much.

[Goldfoot]

No, just saying I really, really love Tool. Maybe too much.

I do too, brother. I use Last.fm, though at times I don't have the plugin installed. So there's some gaps in my listening habits here and there that could last up to 6 months or more. Having said that, I've been signed up there since March 2005 and have 8588 plays of Tool as of now. That's not counting stuff I listen to in my car or at any time before March of 2005, so I'd say I love them quite a lot as well.

As for Rosetta Stoned, when I initially saw the tracklist for the album, I thought it was fake like Systema Encéphale. I didn't see a reason why they would split up Wings For Marie into two parts and the name Rosetta Stoned seemed insulting to me. Once I heard it was the real list, I was disappointed in the name of the song, but after I heard it I changed my perception because it actually works. I've always had an interest in extra-terrestrial life, and if you listen to Faaip De Oiaad, you can Tool has even approached the idea on at least one album before. I like the story that Rosetta tells and I think the music is great. Lateralus is probably going to always by my favorite from the,, but 10,000 Days is a really solid album and I probably hold it second (tied with Ænima).

[Harry Seaward]

So, current confirmed dates:

Tucson, AZ (Jan 17, Tucson Arena)

Albuequerque, NM (Jan 18, Tingley Coliseum)

Toledo, OH (Jan 24, Huntington Center)

Duluth, GA (Feb 8, Gwinnett Arena) (Confirmed by local radio station)

Strange choice of destinations if you ask me. Going from New Mexico to Ohio in 6 days. It seems like there just has to be some shows in between those two. Maynard must be feeling younger. He just finished the Puscifer tour the other night, now Tool, and then Puscifer is touring again starting February 23rd. Not to mention the APC tour that finished up a few months ago. It's a good time for Maynard fans I guess. Also, once again, enjoy the shows you lucky bastards.

[Harry Seaward]

Also, Dallas, TX (Jan 20, Verizon Theater) (Confirmed by local radio station)

[october_midnight]

TDN has people talking about Coachella, though someone saying they have sources saying that no dates will be later than Feb. 18th, and Atlanta on Feb 8th at Gwinnett Arena.

[Harry Seaward]

Reno, NV (Jan 14, Reno Events Center)

Now, I just need to get this out...

OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT NO ONE EVER COMES TO RENO AHHH FUCK WHAT MERRY GODDAMN CHRISTMAS TO ME

[jessamineny]

From my Twitter feed:
Any Tool fans out there? Today's @wootwine is from Maynard's own winery- it's $55 for 4 bottles (but you can still hum 46 and 2).
http://wine.woot.com

[Harry Seaward]

Most updated list. Shows are getting added like crazy.

RENO, NV (Jan 14, Reno Events Center)
Tucson, AZ (Jan 17, Tucson Arena)
Albuquerque, NM (Jan 18, Tingley Coliseum)
Dallas, TX (Jan 20, Verizon Theater) (Ticketmaster will not be handling this show. You need to buy tickets from the site linked, according to the venue's Facebook page.)
Toledo, OH (Jan 24, Huntington Center)
Camden, NJ (Jan 29, Susquehanna Bank Center)
Duluth, GA (Feb 8, Gwinnett Arena) (Confirmed by local radio station)

[demgoth]

Great news! I will hopefully make it to the Camden, NJ show.. and I hope they announce another one closer to NYC which would be ideal. Saw them live most recently in July of last year in Las Vegas which was amazing, after having not seen them since the Lateralus era when I was just 14 years old, hard to believe (October 2001 at Madison Square Garden and August 2002 at Continental Airlines Arena a.k.a. Izod Center)