black and white

[captainspunk]

i think the basic message of this song is that life is not black and white. the man in question who says that tool has sold out does not seem to realize that the concept of "selling out" is inherently meaningless. as soon as one makes money doing anything, they have "sold out" under this defintion. now, certainly tool have not sold out in the typical sense of the word. you don't see them performing on saturday night live or on the cover of spin magazine or see maynard on tv singing "i'm a ford truck man... thats all i dri-eeve..." but they have gained a mass audience and are making a substantial amount of money. but whats wrong with that? has it affected the music? i would say no. tool don't sit down and think "ok. what kind of song could we write that would make us the most money?" they write the music they want to. but that doesn't mean money doesnt come into play at all. America revolves around money. you cannot survive without some source of income. i think tool are lucky that they have a strong enough fan base so that they can survive monetarily and still make intelligent music. but they are making it for the money. thus, they are selling out.

the man who claims tool has "sold out" and is "laying down to the man" doesn't see that everyone is as well, including himself. it is hypocritical to blame "the man" or "the system" because you are part of that system. the products you buy and the money you spend is spent to help that system. this is why maynard says "if i'm the man, then you're the man and he's the man as well". under this indivduals logic, if one does something for money, they sold out to the man. but everybody does, including him. so its pointless to point your finger at someone or look down on them because you are the same.

the world is not black and white. you dont sell your soul as soon as you make a record. all you sell is the damn record.