Mister So
08-06-2004, 05:47 PM
To me, I think Tool has enough followers and fans to be considered a 'popular' band. I often hear Tool songs on the radio and in practically all of my friends' CD players when I go for a ride with them. They are far more intelligent and thought-provoking than most of the rest of the rabble out there... and many of their songs reference things that your average suburban teenage male may not be aware of.
Many of you are already aware of this lyrically... but musically, some of Tool's songs bear a striking resemblance to songs by lesser-known artists...
Take, for instance, Cesaro Summability. I am curious as to the number of people on here who have listened to the song 'Hamburger Lady' by Throbbing Gristle. Stylistically, the songs are almost identical; Hamburger Lady features the same rev-up sounds and muffled-type vocals as Cesaro Summability, and is just as creepy (if not moreso, as it describes a burn victim on life support) as Cesaro Summability. Further, Hamburger Lady was released back in 1978, nearly twenty years before Tool released Aenima. (Hamburger Lady appears on the album 'D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle.')
I would have written this off as perhaps a coincidence... if I did not realize that 'Disgustipated' on Undertow bears an uncanny resemblance to 'It Just Ain't So,' a song appearing on the album 'A Sucked Orange' by Nurse With Wound. The song features slow, metallic percussion, a noisy drone, and a voice repeating 'It ain't necessary, it ain't so.' This album was released in 1989, predating Undertow by several years.
The similarities are definitely there... I would almost bet money that the band is familiar with those pieces and perhaps used them as touchstones for their own creations... but why?
Well, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle are both fairly well-known acts in the industrial / experimental music community... and perhaps the band knew that by and large, the Tool fan base would be unfamiliar with the work of either band. And for those few music geeks who *would* notice where Tool was culling their inspiration? Perhaps the band would hope that by 'borrowing from' or 'mimicking' these songs, they could earn some kind of credibility with this demographic, who would recognize the connection. (Heh, maybe the song should have been called 'Cesaro Credibility.' :) ) Such music geeks may then decide not to write Tool off as a completely commerical or pop act, as some musically-inclined people I know have done. Or....... perhaps the band just hoped no one would notice.
This isn't to take a dig at Tool or anything, this is just to say... don't be *too* impressed with the 'uniqueness' of some of the more unconventional songs that the band has done... chances are, such things have been done before, albeit by lesser-known groups.
Many of you are already aware of this lyrically... but musically, some of Tool's songs bear a striking resemblance to songs by lesser-known artists...
Take, for instance, Cesaro Summability. I am curious as to the number of people on here who have listened to the song 'Hamburger Lady' by Throbbing Gristle. Stylistically, the songs are almost identical; Hamburger Lady features the same rev-up sounds and muffled-type vocals as Cesaro Summability, and is just as creepy (if not moreso, as it describes a burn victim on life support) as Cesaro Summability. Further, Hamburger Lady was released back in 1978, nearly twenty years before Tool released Aenima. (Hamburger Lady appears on the album 'D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle.')
I would have written this off as perhaps a coincidence... if I did not realize that 'Disgustipated' on Undertow bears an uncanny resemblance to 'It Just Ain't So,' a song appearing on the album 'A Sucked Orange' by Nurse With Wound. The song features slow, metallic percussion, a noisy drone, and a voice repeating 'It ain't necessary, it ain't so.' This album was released in 1989, predating Undertow by several years.
The similarities are definitely there... I would almost bet money that the band is familiar with those pieces and perhaps used them as touchstones for their own creations... but why?
Well, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle are both fairly well-known acts in the industrial / experimental music community... and perhaps the band knew that by and large, the Tool fan base would be unfamiliar with the work of either band. And for those few music geeks who *would* notice where Tool was culling their inspiration? Perhaps the band would hope that by 'borrowing from' or 'mimicking' these songs, they could earn some kind of credibility with this demographic, who would recognize the connection. (Heh, maybe the song should have been called 'Cesaro Credibility.' :) ) Such music geeks may then decide not to write Tool off as a completely commerical or pop act, as some musically-inclined people I know have done. Or....... perhaps the band just hoped no one would notice.
This isn't to take a dig at Tool or anything, this is just to say... don't be *too* impressed with the 'uniqueness' of some of the more unconventional songs that the band has done... chances are, such things have been done before, albeit by lesser-known groups.