My Thoughts on Tool

tool schism

The popular band, not the fix-it item.

Tool has been around for a long time, for those not familiar with the name. Well over 30 years. A 4 man band. They’ve won all sorts of music awards, and they only have a discography of about 5 records. They’ve bucked all trends of the music industry, and like all bands who do so, have proven themselves wildly popular. Even today. Funny how that works.

They’ve been given artistic freedom that most artists aren’t afforded, so they take a long time to release new albums. So their repertoire for “tool” at least is relatively small. The singer has 3 bands.

But what they’ve created is more than some music. And I’ve been thinking about it more than a person should, I admit. I’ve had the song “Schism” stuck in my head for days. And I’ve been doing nothing but watching their videos, concerts, and interviews with the band members.

I’m 56 years old. The singer, Maynard James Keenan(not his real name), is over 10 years older than I am. Tool came about in the early 1990s, when I was in college. And I was into punk. Not exclusively by any means, but I was a fan. I saw Butthole Surfers, Black Flag and a long list of such bands at a 4th of July NORML rally on the National Mall in Washington DC around then.

But Tool has always been off my radar somehow. Their music was too dark for me, honestly. But after I fell in love with Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, I liked darker music than the Allman Brothers and early REM. But I still kept them off my plate all those years. Until recently.

I’ve always thought the song ‘Schism’ was something special. But never paid much attention to it. Then I rewatched the video again. Tool is one of those bands that create a mystique with their image. They intentionally lie very low, which contributes to that mystique. Every top actor and band tends to hide their true personalities. For a while.

Every now and then, I take deep dives into people, bands, whatever. And I finally took a deep one with Tool. And I have some thoughts, which is the entire point of this post.

When Maynard was young, he had an interesting childhood, as is known of it. As the lead singer, most attention is focused on him. But I dont think he’s the true mastermind. I think the guitarist is. And he hasn’t ever sought the limelight, so I’m not saying that. They are just enigmatic.

They’re all talented musicians, no doubt. So that attracts long-haired guitarists, long-haired drummers, and bass nerds alike. They geek out over their arrangements. They geek out over everything.

They incorporate heady-type aspects like using the “golden Rule” a lot on one album. Whatever. But that attracts pseudo-intellectuals.

They attract a lot of people. But what do they all have in common? Why are they still so popular after all this time, with so few songs?

I think I have the answer. And that lies with their image/vibe/characteristics and who it collectively attracts. And that’s young, brooding men, full of angst. Look at the concerts and who is there.

I’m not saying that’s good or bad, just my observation that people seem to overlook. Teenage young men are full of angst, and it lasts into their 30s these days, when many men leave that phase of life behind. But many do not.

Maynard (I’m not going to type out his whole name every time) is contemptuous of his audience. Seriously. He’s a jerk. And that seems to make him more popular with that crowd.

The band is enigmatic, for sure. Their lyrics could be interpreted as “deep” or “retarded” depending on who you are. Because they’re cryptic to the point of often just not making sense. There’s a lot of childishness in their package. I believe that stems from Maynard, who never seems to have grown up.

But the guitarist is the guy who comes up not only with so many great riffs and the TONE of the band, but he is responsible for the videos and vibe. He worked on some pretty high-profile horror movies in LA. And was the first to start using the creepy stop-motion effect in videos, as seen in “Sober.”

It’s that “feel” of Tool’s music and image, with their artistry/merchandise that launched them and keeps them flying high. Their concert merchandise is astronomically priced. And resells for multiples of that on eBay. Fan Boys, indeed.

Here are a few videos in particular that represent their intrigue. Maynard was a younger man here, and this was before the incredible Justin Chancellor became the new bassist:

Here is a breakdown by another MBA that I tend to agree with. He provides further evidence of what I’m talking about, but doesn’t get to the point of their audience being angry or at least brooding young men:

And my favorite. I know the pieces fit, because I’ve seen them fall away.

Maynard has an interesting voice. He’s very quiet when speaking and says he lets the microphone do the work. But his voice is spectacular in many ways. The lyrics? Meh. But the drumwork, the basswork, and the guitarwork all work together to create a sound that’s as unmistakable as the optics.

By musgrove

Storytelling content strategist who likes to code, design, and write. And dogs and tech. And pizza. And 3-D printing. And woodworking. And... http://linkedin.com/in/wdpop

Hey there! Please leave a reply...