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View Full Version : Not about Alien Abduction. (Worth reading IMO)


Spiral Into Nothing
05-08-2006, 09:49 PM
I realize that because this is my first post that I will likely be flammed to hell or diregarded all together, but Rosetta Stoned is not about an alien abduction.

It is about a psychedelic expierence.

Reasons why this is fact:

1.The segue "lost keys" directly emphasizes Albert Hoffman, the inventer of LSD.

2. "This blotter got right on top of me" - Self explainatory,

3. Anyone whp has ever partaken of LSD will agree when I say that all the details listed thoughout this song (ex. "BUG EYES" "Gaping Jaw" the entire paragraph from "Strapped down in my bed"

4. The reason he is seeing ET is because dude is trippin balls. ET in the song is a hallucination.

While I am still trying to unravel the entire meaning of this song, I do believe strongly that it is not about an alien abduction of any kind. If anything it has to do with the metaphor rosetta stone, the "ed" just relates it to the drug.

There is much more to this song then meets the eye. My personal belief is that it is saying the psychedelic expierence can be used as a tool (no pun intended) to expand thought and creativity, and the narrator of the song has missed this gift because of his own inabilty to comprehend what is going on.

Thoughts?

Satival Tributary
05-08-2006, 09:56 PM
I agree. It's pretty obvious that the song is not about an alien abduction.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-08-2006, 10:25 PM
I would like to someone to present a counter arguement to my view. The lyrics are pretty clear if you have any knowledge of the subject matter.

Vicenza
05-09-2006, 12:03 AM
well, what i like about the song is that although it does seem likely that the narrator is "trippin balls" like you say, and imagining the whole incident, the song does leave the door open to him having been abducted and maybe even presented with this sacred gift of extra terrestrial knowledge, which we learn at the end, he has now stupidly forgotten. i find such a possibility hilarious, sadly tragic and even frustrating when i listen to this track.

zacharyv
05-09-2006, 01:22 AM
I instantly thought this song was about a FAR OUT experience. The guy is in a psych ward cuz he fried his brain.
I can also see why people relate this to Faaip de Oiad.
I'd also say this is kind of a poke at the people who've gone overboard on trying to "pry open" their 3rd eye. I know that idea has been mentioned before, too.
Basically, I just laugh when I listen. At the end of the day, I'd this is a testament to the humor that has always been part of Tool's music.

Asprinbah
05-09-2006, 05:10 AM
I agree with you. I dont think it is about being abducted either. And finally, someone agrees that it is "the blotter got right on top of me".

Dashel
05-09-2006, 08:28 AM
I disagree...while not 'literally' about alien abduction it is quite clearly a reference to the experiences Bill Hicks had while on acid involving what he percieved to be aliens.

Still torn on whether this is a good/bad trip, though honestly anyone who has ever done it should realize that its always a psychotic mix of emotions during the experience. (The euphoria going up and the twisting 'anal probe' of coming down)

blair's man sausage
05-09-2006, 09:23 AM
whether it's a good or bad trip...interesting point of view...i've been abducted by aliens hundreds of times and once you've been taken aboard a UFO, it's kind of hard to top that...

prater
05-09-2006, 10:35 AM
What I gather is that yes the dude was using drugs, and he himself actually believes he was abducted. However the question whether he really was abducted or not is left unanswered. So he may have been abducted and given a sacred gift, and the answers he wanted, but he can't remember. OR He could have just been trippin balls. IMHO I feel the intent was to leave both possibilities open.

iampete
05-09-2006, 10:52 AM
i don't know how many of you have done drugs..but i've done a fuckload. including acid.

for me this song is about the hope and the beauty that people find in drugs. incredible experiences, they're 'enlightened' and are there to 'tell all the world to see'. but the physical reality is that it's all dirty, and not real. it slips away you forget your pen, and have in fact had a humiliating experience, 'shit the bed again'.

iampete
05-09-2006, 10:54 AM
it is at the very least, obvious that the drug is about an acid trip, and maynard's hippy friend dave who did acid and shat his bed.

has anyone else here. who's done acid, really identify with the lyrics in this song in respect to their experiences?

xineax
05-09-2006, 11:10 AM
Thoughts?

I think you're right except for the purpose of this song. I almost think this song is a rebuke of fans/detractors who think that TOOL is all pro-drug without substance. Third eye was very promotional of the drug experience portrayed in "The Teachings of Don Juan." But Mescalito wasn't for recreation--so many dolts just take the drugs to dissociate--Mescalito was for knowledge/power. There is a sacredness to the drug experience that is lacking here--and this attitude is on purpose. This I see as an intentional tie-in to Third Eye.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-09-2006, 01:35 PM
it is at the very least, obvious that the drug is about an acid trip, and maynard's hippy friend dave who did acid and shat his bed.

has anyone else here. who's done acid, really identify with the lyrics in this song in respect to their experiences?

Totally agreed.

Dashel
05-09-2006, 02:29 PM
has anyone else here. who's done acid, really identify with the lyrics in this song in respect to their experiences?
Very much so. It has that whole stream of conciousness thing going that ebbs and flows throughout the song that really creates that trippy feel.

Hagbard
05-09-2006, 02:54 PM
Hunter Thompson said the great fallacy of LSD culture in the '60s was the false impression that "someone or something was tending the light at the end of the tunnel". I think this song is about a guy who, like a lot of naeive LSD users, foolishly thinks that he is 'special' and has been chosen by some mysterious, intelligent entity (which is nothing more than a product of his own mind) to deliver a message to humanity. In reality, he's just a guy who's tripping his balls off like anyone else.

Mesher_dakimi
05-09-2006, 04:16 PM
it is at the very least, obvious that the drug is about an acid trip, and maynard's hippy friend dave who did acid and shat his bed.

has anyone else here. who's done acid, really identify with the lyrics in this song in respect to their experiences?
yes

Mesher_dakimi
05-09-2006, 04:20 PM
I think you're right except for the purpose of this song. I almost think this song is a rebuke of fans/detractors who think that TOOL is all pro-drug without substance. Third eye was very promotional of the drug experience portrayed in "The Teachings of Don Juan." But Mescalito wasn't for recreation--so many dolts just take the drugs to dissociate--Mescalito was for knowledge/power. There is a sacredness to the drug experience that is lacking here--and this attitude is on purpose. This I see as an intentional tie-in to Third Eye.


Wow i think he is on to something here, drug use not just for escapism but for the questofknowldgandpwr

Hexagram
05-09-2006, 11:31 PM
I agree as well! If you look att the lyrics it's definitely related to the paranoia and confusion that can accur during/after a trip. What makes me sceptical is the fact that he's not suffering from any "obvious physical trauma" and all "vitals are stable". I might be out sailing on this one but if he's been tripping shouldn't he have a slight increase in heart rate and jaw tension?

gandhus
05-10-2006, 05:30 AM
I don't think the acid's the focus here, it's more comic relief than anything.

Seems like the title is a parody. The Rosetta Stone allowed us to read hieroglyphs and translate them into Latin and Greek - furthering our knowledge, opening doors, advancing the race, etc. We have here in this tale a similar opportunity to acquire some type of critical awe-inspiring knowledge.

The only problem: our protagonist doesn't have a fucking pen to write it down.

I get a kick out of it myself.

kaspguy
05-10-2006, 05:48 AM
I think it's both. Actually, alot of people have the experience of taking acid and then having encounters with aliens. Maybe the acid does something to your mind which attracts being of a higher intelligence? Or maybe your mind makes it all up and I'm full of shit =D.

Hexagram
05-10-2006, 07:22 AM
I think it's both. Actually, alot of people have the experience of taking acid and then having encounters with aliens. Maybe the acid does something to your mind which attracts being of a higher intelligence? Or maybe your mind makes it all up and I'm full of shit =D.

Lots of people claim meeting "The Fractal Elves" when tripping on DMT.
The looks and behaviour of these elves seem to occur the same to all.

Vlad
05-10-2006, 07:34 AM
LSD is harmless, so his vitals are stable. The person probably wandered around after doing a monster dose is in a state of psychosis, so he would have no idea how he got to the hospital. To me, ET = knowledge that can't be obtained by any normal means, since its all in this guy's head. He seems like an average joe who got himself into so much "shit" that he didn't know what to do with it. I think he wanted to find a link between two realities within himself, so he became the "Rosetta Stone". Then he gets so caught up with being "the one" that he actually forgets what being "the one" really means, and forgets the entire message. The lack of pen is just another tough break, showing the comical side of "human divinity".

rjs9009
05-10-2006, 09:02 AM
I couldn't agree more. To me this song perfectly descibes an LSD trip. Whether you actually do or not is open to debate, but during a trip a sense of higher understanding is very common. Many times I have felt that I got "it", unfortunately I can't put what "it" is into words while tripping and have absolutely no chance of explaining it when sober.

To me at least it's VERY obvious this song is just explaining a trip. Aliens and the rest are just halucunations but the sinse of understanding and needing to share is very real as is forgetting it afterwards.

prater
05-10-2006, 09:32 AM
IMHO I think thats the point of the song, you never really know if this guy really was abducted by aliens and given this sacred information OR if he was just tripping balls. Thus it so closely resembles and LSD trip so thats the obvious connection people are going to draw. BUT....What if this kid was not tripping and everything he's saying is true... We may never know. It could go either way, thats the irony in it. I think thats why Maynard never clarified which one it was, to leave that question open.

shifty50fs
05-10-2006, 09:33 AM
I couldn't agree more. To me this song perfectly descibes an LSD trip. Whether you actually do or not is open to debate, but during a trip a sense of higher understanding is very common. Many times I have felt that I got "it", unfortunately I can't put what "it" is into words while tripping and have absolutely no chance of explaining it when sober.

To me at least it's VERY obvious this song is just explaining a trip. Aliens and the rest are just halucunations but the sinse of understanding and needing to share is very real as is forgetting it afterwards.

That's what it seems like to me.

Although the anagram for Rosetta Stoned that was in the January newsletter was A OR ET TESTS ON D....A(liens) OR E (mother fucking) T TESTS ON D(AVE)..."like the time dave floated away".

That doesn't really change my view of the song, it's still definitely a trip, but the anagram is more interesting to me now.

prater
05-10-2006, 09:39 AM
This reminds me of an X-Files episode where some kid (played by seth green) tells Mulder about his UFO sightings inside a government compound. Scully immediatly debunks the story because the kid is obvious trippin balls, but when Mulder goes to investigate he witnesses the same thing while sober, only to be picked up by the government and have his memory altered, he remembered nothing specific only that he saw something, he didn't remember what. Thus nobody can really be sure. If any of you have ever watched those shows where nutjobs talk about alien abduction and think to yourself "what a pscyho" and of course you think its bullshit...But every once in awhile you find yourself thinking..."What if they're not crazy, what if this shit is real?"

Thats what I gather from this song, that question "What if..." I find it extremely ironic that this kid could hold the key to the unanswered questions of the universe (i.e. the rosetta stone) or he could just be trippin balls (stoned). Its Irony. Plain and simple, I doubt even Maynard knows which one it is. Its more a "You decide..." type story.

phdmatt2002
05-10-2006, 11:59 AM
i dont see him in a psych ward, he is probably in an emergancy room (obviouslly not in the US because its several hours before you see a doctor)
a lot of psychologists relate alien abduction to child abuse and lsd could have recoverd some memories.

Drunken
05-10-2006, 03:14 PM
I don't think it's entirely about alien abduction either. I think it's about, like other's have said, a guy who has had an experience he can't explain, while on LSD. But while he was on LSD, he was "told" a great message, in which I am interpreting, was about life its self. He just can't remember what it was, because he was extremely stoned.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-10-2006, 06:54 PM
IMHO I think thats the point of the song, you never really know if this guy really was abducted by aliens and given this sacred information OR if he was just tripping balls. Thus it so closely resembles and LSD trip so thats the obvious connection people are going to draw. BUT....What if this kid was not tripping and everything he's saying is true... We may never know. It could go either way, thats the irony in it. I think thats why Maynard never clarified which one it was, to leave that question open.

Why do people insist that is even MIGHT have something to do with fucking aliens.

The answer is clear, ignore it if you choose.

Vondruke
05-10-2006, 08:06 PM
Why do people insist that is even MIGHT have something to do with fucking aliens.

.

Well, here is my answer, take it for what it's worth.
It's as much about aliens as LSD.
Some people aren't oblivious to the Bill Hicks referrences.
Tool has done it's best to let people in on the jokes, some just look beyond it.

You'll also note that while Bill Hicks lampooned hippies and druggies, he also was the first to say he did his share and enjoyed them, and while he lampooned bubbas who carried shotguns to UFO sightings for fear of abduction, he would be the first to say he saw a UFO and might have indeed been abducted himself.

That's the thing, if you catch yourself saying this song is defintely about A as opposed to B, you might very well be missing the point altogether. Who says it can't be about both?

In fact the only hard evidence we have about this song are the lyrics, music, some referrences from Blair and the Alex Grey comments.

What does it tell us? Well clearly Dave shit his bed while camped out at Area 51 tripping his balls off. That's the underlying theme. Then Maynard like any writer trying to convey a message or theme will trick up the lyrics as to not be completely banal. He wrote the narrative to where if you were a head trying to dig deep, you'd be spinning wheels trying to understand all the musical self-sampling and "message" when the narrarator clearly states he can't remember what they said, he forgot his pen, he metaphorically and literally "shit the bed". In other words, there is no Rosetta Stone here, it was lost. It's just a funny story amped up tenfold, to add the "needed" flavors. Much in the same way The Balls of Satan needed to be in German.

The aspect of ET's is part of the narrative, it conveys the exact same theme as the LSD trip, because either this is an actual verbatim true story (we all know it's not) or it's an expansion upon a funny story (Dave shit the bed) with a message about hippies disappearing up their own arse trying to decipher hi-hats and sequences and why the synth from Reflection pops out of nowhere "woah dude!!", to add the proper mysticsm to this satire, we have the UFO angle. It is as much the fabric of the song as any of the rest.

I think it's a satire about those looking for esoteric hidden messages, when clearly the intention of the song has at least a very large dose of humor (Bill Hicks). The message is stop spinning wheels, metaphorically shitting the bed, because one day you may have the chance to change yourself, if not others and you shouldn't waste time trying to look for anwsers elsewhere, you were lead to water, did you not drink "Think for yourself, brothers and sisters".

The idea here, the humor, the satire is that Tool knows that people will see into their own ideas of the Tool "mysticsm". It's an exposition, you aren't really thinking for yourself if you think this song is "about drugs man...", the irony is in the song itself, plain as can be.

Back to the Bill HIcks thing for one second, where do his rants fit in with what I am saying? It's the same effect. The yahoos grab their guns to shoot the little green men from the sky before they get anally probed, the 'heads' are too busy trying to sift thru obvious comical narratives looking for passages about mankind (or some shit). The Bill Hicks underline here is that 1-nobody is saying aliens aren't real, that this shit doesn't happen, the joke is that it's always some gomer that it happens to. 2-The fact that said narrarator couldn't "hold his", had he not been trippin balls he'd have the message to mankind. That's not anti-drug, it's anti-fool.

There isn't an admonishment of either here (drugs UFO's)because the implication is that Tool knows that the fans paying attention know that they dabble with hallucinogens or at least used to, and at the least have an interest in ufology. So the satire works, because they've got at least half of the people hook, line and sinker, trying to decipher the Rosetta Stone in this song, even when it's clearly stated it's lost (never was). Shit the bed again=missed the point again.
The real point here? Enjoy the song, have a laugh, stop looking past the obvious.

Faiip has nothing to do with drugs either, does it? What about aliens? Well the joke is implicit here as well, the Art Bell call was a hoax, trippy weird music to send one part of the crowd one way trying to unlock hidden meanings or just sacred shitless, the Enochian title, same effect. All the while the call on the song is a hoax. This is a joke. How could Tool end this "opus" Lateralus on a joke? They are trying to let you in on what they are doing. Not taking themselves that seriously.

The cow with the head up his ass on the Undertow package=joke, Rosetta Stoned=joke, it's as much about LSD as it is about aliens, because in truth it's just a satire. The whole idea of Tool is in this song, the guys who said they were about the fictitious lachrymology, sent drones off buying into it, all they had to do was play the part. They call themselves 'Tool' for a reason, and lachrymology isn't it. The joke is still alive and well, the next time someone is at a Tool concert, tripping out at the deep message of a transcendant joke, I'm sure Maynard will have a laugh as he sings "shit the bed" and knows some bloke out there is saying "right on man".

It's not all a con, but that's the whole idea, get past the artifice, the darkness, the imageries, you'll find a rock band trying to make meaningful music and trying to let you know that's all they are doing. They aren't trying to give you the answers, they are trying methods to get you to find them out for yourself.

a reflection
05-10-2006, 08:29 PM
[QUOTE=Vondruke]Well, here is my answer, take it for what it's worth.

'alot of stuff'
QUOTE]


Great post.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-10-2006, 08:37 PM
Because, it is a story about alien abductions. Even if it is completely an acid trip (which it is) it's kind of hard to distinguish what it's about unless you've ever tripped on acid or you're a member of the board and you get fed shit about how each song has an exact meaning. I'm getting kind of bored of people here telling me what to believe. Every post should be started with IMO, not "You're completely wrong on all aspects of your analyzation." Just my two cents. So don't be tossing your stones around.

Okay perhaps my choice of words were a bit mischosen. I am not telling anyone what to believe, because that would be pointless.

I have stated that this is not a "OMG!1! this dude is trippin on LSD!" song.

But, I do believe that relating it to any sort of actual alien expierence is a injustice to such a great song. I personally don't believe that the narrator is in area 51, no does the fact that it is mentioned in the song mean that it has anything to do with it.

It's caotic nonsense, I believe it is used to make a visual example of how strange and odd his state of mind is. If you have ever taken LSD, you would know that often times reality can become so distorted and lost that you have no idea where you are, things look very different then normal, much like "Area 51"

But.. I give up, I have my opinion, you have the right to yours as well. No matter how misguided it may be.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-10-2006, 08:37 PM
Double post.... sorry.

Spiral Into Nothing
05-10-2006, 09:57 PM
The lyrics are crazy because it fits the context of the song. That is what I meant, not sure what you got from it.

prater
05-11-2006, 11:41 AM
IMHO I don't think the song is ABOUT either, its basically about something that either

A. Is an extremely important event that has taken place.
OR
B. It was bullshit, just some guys hallucination.

Thats the irony in it, theres no way of knowing. It could be trash in which case who gives a shit, or it could be the answers to the mysteries of life that this dumbass couldn't remember. Trash or Treasure either way its gone and theres no way to to know which it was. All thats left is this outragious story.

Its like if I walked up to you on the street and told you an elaborate story about how I discovered the cure for cancer, but I can't remember what it was. Or if it even really happend. How do you treat that situation? When on one hand you have a guy who found the cure for one of the deadliest diseases on the planet, that could save millions of lives but he forgot it.
OR
This guy is full of shit and imagined the whole thing.

This song gives you plenty of evidence to both possibilities then leaves you to decide, much like the doctor and anyone who hears his story would have to decide as well.

prater
05-11-2006, 11:49 AM
Its like trying decipher a lie from a truth. If you do believe this story you could be one the biggest dumbasses in the world, being led on a wild goose chase after phantom UFO's. Or if you dismiss it as bullshit you stand the chance of possibly blowing off one of the greatest discoveries of our generation.

From now on, I will always carry a pen...Its a joke calm down.

gandhus
05-11-2006, 02:18 PM
From now on, I will always carry a pen...Its a joke calm down.

No doubt!

It just dawned on me today but perhaps this track is the 10,000 Days equivalent of "Disgustipated".

-The length
-Sense of humor
-Ballad-esque (tells a story)

Or more accurately, "Disgustipated on steroids"....it's more grandiose with more music behind it.

It's a stretch, but w/e.....

zzzsleepzzz
05-12-2006, 09:31 AM
In the other thread about the Alex Grey listening party Alex told the crowd this song was infact written about a friend of the bands who ate a bunch of Acid and camped out outside of Area 51 and then thought he had been abducted by aliens. The poke fun at him cause he didn't graduate highschool and he had this important message but had forgetten what it was. This has been confirmed as to what the song is about. (Alex Grey isn't like blair with bullshit and cryptic puzzles, pretty straight up).

Convoy_X
05-12-2006, 11:53 AM
I would like to someone to present a counter arguement to my view. The lyrics are pretty clear if you have any knowledge of the subject matter.
But I dont, yet I sitll agree with you...

prater
05-12-2006, 03:34 PM
It definatly COULD be completely just a trip and the whole thing was a hullucination.

It could also be that he's telling the truth and everything he's saying did happen.

Thats the irony in it, you'll never know.

JE Mack
05-12-2006, 04:39 PM
In the other thread about the Alex Grey listening party Alex told the crowd this song was infact written about a friend of the bands who ate a bunch of Acid and camped out outside of Area 51 and then thought he had been abducted by aliens. The poke fun at him cause he didn't graduate highschool and he had this important message but had forgetten what it was. This has been confirmed as to what the song is about. (Alex Grey isn't like blair with bullshit and cryptic puzzles, pretty straight up).

i don't think you can take anything like that seriously. i'm pretty i read a long time ago an interview where someone in the band said the song Sober was about an upstairs neighbor that was an alcoholic. they lie about their song meanings. i guess alex grey could just as easily lie too, you can't really know for sure.

05-13-2006, 05:00 PM
This might help. I like the song and it doesnt really bother me if its about ET or 'cid buts still a good song. This could shed some light however.

“I think psychedelics play a major part in what we do, but having said that, I feel that if somebody's going to experiment with those things they really need to educate themselves about them. People just taking the chemicals and diving in without having any kind of preparation about what they're about to experience tend to have no frame of reference, so they're missing everything flying by and all these new perspectives. It's just a waste. They reach a little bit of spiritual enlightenment, but they end up going, 'Well, now I need that drug to get back there again.' The trick is to use the drugs once to get there, and maybe spend the next ten years trying to get back there without the drug.” -MJK