TOOL

[Strat]

Im beginning to dislike the term "guilty pleasure"

If you really like it then why do you feel guilty about it? I feel like at that point you are just liking it or rather - disliking it due to what others might think. Thus, you don't really like it. Don't feel guilty about it. Embrace it.

Like a Virgin is a great song and I listened to Madonna last night.


Carry on.

[bada]

Funny I listened to Tool last night for the first time in a long time. I didn't feel guilty.

[Strat]

and I only came to this decision/thought process re: Guilty Pleasure because I, too, have battled with such things.

[Birds in Hell]

and I only came to this decision/thought process re: Guilty Pleasure because I, too, have battled with such things.

Oh, I hear you. That's what I meant in the first post in this thread - I've felt that guilt in the past, which is silly. I like Tool.

[Soma.]

Listening guilt is for the spineless. I rock 10,000 days once every few months, and its awesome.

[Bob Loblaw]

Carey remains one of my favourite drummers, that's for sure.

[Fuzzcharger]

Im beginning to dislike the term "guilty pleasure"

If you really like it then why do you feel guilty about it? I feel like at that point you are just liking it or rather - disliking it due to what others might think. Thus, you don't really like it. Don't feel guilty about it. Embrace it.

Like a Virgin is a great song and I listened to Madonna last night.


Carry on.

Personally I think most of what Tool do is a load of bloated prog-metal wank and this genre of music grosses me out and is generally the opposite of what I think is good taste. However there's a couple of tunes that I really like. Hence the guilt.

Part of that is also probably having a thing about admitting to enjoying Tool and therefore aligning myself with their fanbase.

[WtOB?]

That song rules.

Do people not like it?

I haven't really investigated the Tool online community, so I have no idea what the general fan consensus is on these things (or if one exists.)

Well I asked my friend the other week why people don't like 10,000 Days and he said because The Pot sounds too much like a single or something.

The song never bothered me. It's not one of my favorites but I always thought it was kinda funny.

[Birds in Hell]

That song rules.

Do people not like it?

I haven't really investigated the Tool online community, so I have no idea what the general fan consensus is on these things (or if one exists.)

Well I asked my friend the other week why people don't like 10,000 Days and he said because The Pot sounds too much like a single or something.

The song never bothered me. It's not one of my favorites but I always thought it was kinda funny.

Weird. It just sounds like a decent Tool song to me, it's hardly as though it's Just Breathe or something.

[BurtReynolds]

i undervalued their last two albums for years. they are great though.

Rosetta Stoned is sooooooo badass.

[WtOB?]

That song rules.

Do people not like it?

I haven't really investigated the Tool online community, so I have no idea what the general fan consensus is on these things (or if one exists.)

Well I asked my friend the other week why people don't like 10,000 Days and he said because The Pot sounds too much like a single or something.

The song never bothered me. It's not one of my favorites but I always thought it was kinda funny.

Weird. It just sounds like a decent Tool song to me, it's hardly as though it's Just Breathe or something.

Maybe Tool fans need a Backspacer for some perspective.

[Soma.]

Maybe your friend is a fucking idiot.

[WtOB?]

I'll let him know.

[zeb]

01 Aenima
02 Lateralus
03 Undertow

04 The rest

[mf]

Don't really see how they'd ever be considered a guilty pleasure. They're fucking awesome.

Love all their stuff except for 10k Days. It's solid but not as cohesive as the rest and there's really only a few great moments...Jambi, Right In Two, Rosetta Stoned. The title centerpiece is pretty epic, but I think it could've been better if lopped the first part off. Vicarious and The Pot are alright, but they remind of stuff from later in a bands career where they say "we have a few on there that are a real return to our roots". Another big gripe with the album, there are quite a few rehashed riffs and patterns. I realize they've never been the most diverse band but I'm talking pretty much straight lifts. Funny that Wings is lower on my list since it's probably the most unique thing in their catalog.

The 4 shows I've seen, 2 for Lateralus and 2 for 10k Days were all amazing, especially the first one in 01 with the naked acrobats.

Love to see them put out 10k Days on vinyl. Really seems like they paced it for that anyway. Wonder what the hold up is? Why they're at it they should ditch the Lateralus picture disc garbage and put out a legit pressing. It's hissy as a motherfucker.



Aenima-love the mix of the raw early aggression and the later musical trickery. Sure I'll get ragged on, but I think the in between stuff helps make this album the best. Kinda in the same way On the Run and Great Gig make DSOTM, but much darker twisted form
Lateralus-Masterpiece
Undertow-always liked this, but got a new appreciation awhile back and never realized how proggy they were at this point
Opiate-yeah not a true album, but every song on there is certified badassedness
10k Days-see above

all of this is pretty much spot on. i love 10k days but it's probably my least favorite Tool album. it absolutely lacks the cohesion of their other full lengths and suffers because of that. I'd even put it behind Opiate but there's also a lot of personal nostalgia with that EP that probably inflates it for me. there is no guilty pleasure in my unabashed love of Tool. besides the dorky uber-fans i'm not sure what there is to be ashamed of.

AEnima - still my favorite album of all time.
Undertow - the production is a little muddy but it adds to the overall dark and sinister vibe of the album.
Lateralus - flawless, perhaps a little too much so. by which i mean it feels a little too clinical at times even though the songs are fucking awesome. i don't listen to this record as much as i should.
Opiate - fuckin Opiate man
10,000 Days - solid but not GREAT. a pretty top notch worst album, really.



And for anybody that doubts the power of Opiate watch this if you haven't seen it before.

[Bob Loblaw]

Well, some of their topics are really silly. I remember years ago when I used to visit the Tool website in search of news, most of the posts were about Mayas and Crowley and stupid shit like that. I never quite understood if this was all schtick or if they really had or have those beliefs. Plus, Maynard's kind of a dick.

That being said, the music is great, and their lyrics are nowhere near as bad as they should be even when they're referring to those topics, so they got that going for them.

[nyquillyn]

I still like Tool. I will admit that as I have gotten older, their appeal has waned a lot. But I saw them in Tucson a few years back and they were amazing. Also, as someone else has said Danny Carey is fucking killer. ALL of my drummer friends (which is really just 3) worship him, despite the fact that none of them really like Tool.

As luck would have it, I'm actually making a trip up to Jerome this weekend and Maynard's wine bar is on the list of places to visit.

[Bee Girl]

I love Tool and can listen to nothing but Tool for a week, which I did just last week. Including 10k Days. It is also my least favorite, but it had been a while since I listened to that one and I found myself enjoying it more than I remembered, which I think is good too.

Lots of good memories tied up in that stuff for me, and some sadness too. Ahhh life.

[mf]

Well, some of their topics are really silly. I remember years ago when I used to visit the Tool website in search of news, most of the posts were about Mayas and Crowley and stupid shit like that. I never quite understood if this was all schtick or if they really had or have those beliefs. Plus, Maynard's kind of a dick.

That being said, the music is great, and their lyrics are nowhere near as bad as they should be even when they're referring to those topics, so they got that going for them.

i think it's mostly just their webmaster and Danny that are heavy into the crowley/occult/mysticism stuff.

[BurtReynolds]

Well, some of their topics are really silly. I remember years ago when I used to visit the Tool website in search of news, most of the posts were about Mayas and Crowley and stupid shit like that. I never quite understood if this was all schtick or if they really had or have those beliefs. Plus, Maynard's kind of a dick.

That being said, the music is great, and their lyrics are nowhere near as bad as they should be even when they're referring to those topics, so they got that going for them.

i think it's mostly just their webmaster and Danny that are heavy into the crowley/occult/mysticism stuff.

pretty sure they are mostly mocking those sorts of things.


For years I never bothered to look up their lyrics. Pretty funny stuff.