Deeper Meaning

[Stan_Sancho]

There always seems to be a deeper meaning. Nobody knows the twists in Maynard's head... sometimes I wonder if he does, himself. But, despite any meaning whatsoever, is the song that turned my life around. Everything, even AEnima, from Tool had a pounding anger about it... Something I fed off of. And for that, Tool was my favorite band harder than anything Sublime-like. I could relate in my own subliminal way to everything Maynard was saying because of the not-so-pleasantness of my own surroundings. And Pushit was the first song to hold a deeper meaning to me, because it seemed like it was about an individual who was being abused and but from one they loved. Close to home. And even though I felt a kind of kinship with this song... It was the ugliest thing I'd ever heard. It was because it hit so close to home that it made me wretch internally while I listened to it with hidden tears in my eyes... I listen to music and watch movies to ESCAPE my reality, rather than be forced back into it. But then Salival came out. My bestest friend Kari got it for me for my birthday. I put it in my CD player as soon as I could... And I listened. It was a pretty good version of "Third Eye (live)" but I didn't like that Maynard didn't scream "PRYING OPEN MY THIRD EYE, PRYING OPEN MY THIRD EYE" half as much as he did on the studio version. Then it was "Part of Me (live)", always a classic. But then it got quiet... And Maynard started with his "we're doing something a little different this tour" speech. And it started with plucks of guitar string and light tabla. For those that own Salival or pirated the live version contained therein from various sites, you know what ensued. It is quite possibly... the most beautiful song I have ever heard. And I had to stop myself and think, "If Maynard can do to this song... what he has, to make it the most sonicly perfect ode to MY personal life he ever could have... Maybe I can turn MY ugly situation around." And that was more or less the turning point in my life where I re-awoke. I started living again. It was nice to love the sun again... I hadn't been outside in a while. And with the addition of Lateralus to my album collection, it's like I was being rewarded for doing so. Disposition is NOW my most favorite song by this quartet.

[Druzzel Dermgo]

Dude, that is possibly the most beautifully put posts on this forum. You hit this song right on the head. What you said about Pushit...and Tool for that matter...are everything I've been telling people. Especially those who say that Tool sucks, or is "alright". In my opinion, what you just said about Tool, is what Tool thinks about their music themselves.

[vermin]

let me say that i love you. i just fell in love with you. i have never met anybody who understands me. why i love the "prying open my third eye" part. and here you are. i hope i get to meet you someday.

[thedestroyer666]

I must say that it hit rather hit close to home, for me as well.

Its a very deep, very emotional song that just rips at your soul...seemingly till there is nothing left. ...Gotta love TOOL!

[Pierre-Paul]

I listened to the live version, and It's 14 minutes of pure awesomeness. An audio orgasm. Maynard's voice in the beginning part translates a lot of things and Dany's hand percussion solo in the middle is amazing. And the huge breakdown part, although similar to the Ænima version, has a lot of power. Especially the last guitar attacks once Maynard has stopped singing, the notes are powerful and are wrapping the whole thing together perfectly.

[ivy]

some interesting points there, stan...

if nothing else, tool reminds me to stop and look at myself. pushit is beautiful, and very painful to listen to; and each time i get in real deep and intimate with my own escapism, this song in particular will not allow me to ignore what i feel. these lyrics parallel a certain relationship in my own life so eloquently that listening to it is no less than a slap in the face, each time.

A reminder that i still hold on to too much, that i have worked through nothing yet, that i'm running away and still refusing to examine the causes of my emotions. a reminder that i still cling tight to fear.

but i suppose recognizing that is a step in the right direction. =)

each time i play any tool album in an attempt to distract myself from myself, i quickly remember that tool is not an escape; tool plays music to think to. and as much as i tell myself i don't want to, i keep going back, listening again, thinking fearlessly, and learning more.

kicking and screaming. =)

[Binah3]

i must say....this is the only thread on this forum that i think i saw everyone agreeing on something and no lashing out at anyone for anything.

I agree 100% with what everyone of you said. Especially stans post. When i started listening to Tool i just looked at them as another band at first. Then i began to dig deeper and deeper into their music.

My personal interpretations of their songs were ones that made me want to live again as well. I had dropped out of school not too long before i started listening to tool and then the impact of their songs gave me the motivation to go back to school and to do something with myself.

Enough said.

[TwelveTigers]

I agree with all of that. The song gives me the chills like nothing else.

[RU5TY]

that is gorgeous. u posted something that i agree with perfectly, almosu the way tool can turn words and music into an anthem for the way i feel sometimes. alot of my friends just think tool is some scary band without meaning, without even trying to see the meanings within their music. they cant find beauty within the dissonance. they dont realize how beautiful and touching the songs actually are. they can only see the surface. every tool song touches me in a different way, and i never grow bored of surveying the lyrics and trying to dig deeper into what is being said, or what i am hearing. thanks maynard

[Austere_Guardian]

I agree with you entirely. I think it's great that you can use music to better yourself; like all other art, that is what it is used for. When I first heard Pushit, (or rather looked at the title and thought "o_o;;;!") I had trouble associating it with anything I had expierienced. Than I lived some. And now I can.

Pushit has helped me, as you have, realize the reality around me. I don't know that it has helped me as it has you, but then again, I'm melodramatic and boring. I guess I'm thanking you for giving me something to think about this evening, as I had nothing before hand.

Thank you and such and stuff.

[thinking man]

what pushit means to me. I feel the same as most of you in this thread about the song. It's so beautiful and rigid at the same time. The first time I put in aenima and got to pushit, i knew, for some reason, that i'd be listening to this song for a long time. Aenima came out about 2 months after i found out i was going to be a dad and the whole cd hit me quite hard because I think maynard was going through some issues about being a parent or just became a dad to his son devo. That's a whole other post right there though. On to pushit. From the opening buzzing of the bees sounds to the final notes is just pure, raw emotion. The lyrics hit home for me because I got myself into this situation of being a dad and having so much responsibility to deal with, that it just hit real hard. I cried many times to this song as i evaluated my life. i felt trapped by this woman and the whole situation. The whole choking the infant and what is this but my reflection really opened my eyes. I was about to be a dad and i've got to deal with it by becoming responsible. All during the pregnancy, the words to this song flowed through my brain constantly. rest your trigger on my finger was saying to me "i may push too hard and cause tension or anger. I was walking on eggshells as it was anyway. If you have been through a pregnancy, then i think you can understand. "put me somewhere i don't wanna be" and "while you were begging me to stay" was what kept running through my mind. I wanted to be with her, but not really. It felt like an obligation and i was forced to play along with the situation. Tool really helped me when i needed it. THANK YOU TOOL. I just hope they put it on the dvd, since i've never heard it live in person both times i've seen them.

thinking man

[dsl]

That last post was great. I mean, what more can a band want other than to inspire someone to do something great with their life, to accept, to grow...That is Tool's message. Change. Growth. Birth. Rebirth. Pushit is a great song, but I just find it cool that we can all find something different in it. Glad people can find happiness from Tool, which seperates them from all the other stupid shit on the radio about 24 inch rims and how many gold teeth you can fit in your mouth.

[Zole]

That last post was great. I mean, what more can a band want other than to inspire someone to do something great with their life, to accept, to grow...That is Tool's message. Change. Growth. Birth. Rebirth. Pushit is a great song, but I just find it cool that we can all find something different in it. Glad people can find happiness from Tool, which seperates them from all the other stupid shit on the radio about 24 inch rims and how many gold teeth you can fit in your mouth.

I agree fully, people who make music just for the money involved, or the fame, dont deserve to be listened to. Maynard is probably a very rich man (being involved in 3 bands with over 7albums should pay quite well) yet he still makes music. Maybe I'm missing something, but also I've never seen more than a half shot of Maynard's face, something VERY rare for famous people. Tool hasnt ever been a very mainstream band, and I hope that never changes.

[Luna Galapogos]

I love this song as well, especially the Salival version of this song. This thread is also just as beautiful because it shows that through this song, all the people have become one mind. It is part of the point of the band I think to have people connect to them and to each other through their music. Thank you for all of your comments, it is touching, as is the song.

[undrtow17]

WOW
I havent ever seen such a concentration of people who have been inspired by this band.
I heard this song in the background and was always intrgued but it was not until I experienced the dynamic of the relationship in my own life, which i hear being sung about in pushit, that i heard the song and the feeling it was conveying.
When i listen i see a relationship in which someone is asking a friend or lover to support their self destruction. the 'gap' is the place that the friend or lover is attracted to being in, but is at the same time a place of affirming and taking on the self destrutive behavior "I feel alive when your holding me down". This song is a lesson in love learned through a battle for survival.
Thanks for the posts and the ears and eyes taking time to read them
-Jordan

[thewayuwhisper]

I joined this opinion section a couple of days ago, and that was a most impressive thread. I have been listening to tool obsessively for two years now. Im one of those people that got hit hard the very first time I heard it. I was convinced this band would be a guide to explore my inner self, and I would never be in a sence "mainstream" ever again. Pushit gives me the chills every time.

[ihatemickjagger]

This is by far my favorite Tool song; it defines aenima as an album. It really reminds me how musically inventive these guys are. The bass and guitar riffs are very unique, but mesh together beautifully to provide the backing to such a wonderful song. I also love the way Danny accents his drumming, especially near the end and during adam's "solo" where he tremoloes; Danny seems to be playing in 4/4 on top of the bass's 3/4 rhythmic sound. Add beautiful vocals with inspirational lyrics...i need not say more

[AllforUnity]

There is no more to say, you hit the nail right on the head. Nice post. :)