read and learn

[æonblue]

I know all of tool's music is open to interpretation, and it's great that virtually everyone has the same interpretation of stinkfist as being a reflection of society's need to be stimulated, but forget all of that, for I hold the key to the real meaning. Before I get into the actual meaning of stinkfist, I'll tell you what then entire album is about. Simply put, Ænima is a tribute to the late, great bill hicks. It's about evolution and change, a subject that was very dear to hicks and was the underlying message in his comedy. The album uses ideas and philosophies from a variety of people to paint this picture of evolution (Jung, Crowley, Leary, Drunvalo, etc.) Stinkfist is no exception...

The song Stinkfist is about evolving into a higher being, or a FUTANT. Both Stinkfist and Forty-Six & 2 are about the actual transformation from a normal human to a FUTANT. In Stinkfist, the transformation takes place by going through a portal or breaking through the cocoon and embryonic layer between a bipolar existence and a more unified one. In Forty-Six & 2, it takes place in the gaining of two chromosomes, which happens as a result of stepping through the shadow. The two songs are very much one and the same.

The thing people forget to analyze with tool, when they're trying to interpret a song, is that the music itself gives as much meaning to the song as the lyrics, and in this case, the video do too. In Stinkfist, there is one main riff, which is excellent, that represents the speaker's world or existence. The riff repeats itself over and over, representing the monotony and boredom in the speaker's life (Something has to change. Undeniable dilemma. Boredom's not a burden anyone should bear.) "Constant over stimulation numbs me but I would not want you any other way" is like he's saying that he's become numb from his existance and he's bored because it doesn't really offer him anything. I'll leave the rest of the lyrics open to interpretation and just give you the base of meaning. After the second verse, the music slows down. This represents the digging process (digging out of the cocoon of an existance he knows). Note that Adam's guitar sounds really grimy and slippery here, kinda like worm digging through dirt (at least, that's what it reminds me of). Anyway, after the "chupa minha pica" part, Maynard whispers "this... feels... this... feels..." and growls "right." Then, at the end of the digging process, you can hear him breathing heavily, almost as if he's nervous, yet excited. At this point he is at the borderline, and then he screams (think of the borderline as a pool, and he's standing at the edge of the pool and he's nervous that the water is going to be cold and he's going to regret it, but then he says to himself, "Oh, what the hell" and jumps in) and crosses the borderline. Then the music erupts into an adaptation of the old riff, or existence. It's the same riff, but it's different, and it's still the same world, but he's seeing it differently because he crossed the borderline. Again, I'll leave the rest of the lyrics to you. Also, after the final "turn around and take my hand," you can faintly hear a baby cry or wail, just thought I'd point that out.

Well, that is what stinkfist is about and what the album, in general, is about; the transformation from HUMAN to FUTANT. Still don't believe me? Go watch the stinkfist video with this in mind and try to tell me it doesn't make a world more of sense to you. That is all...

[StinkfistJEff]

Wow thats a great view on Stinkfist. I loved the way you described how the music had specific meaning to the song. That's so true. This meaning does seem to truly coincide with the video. But im still pretty sure, b/c Danny Carey himself said it's about how society has become desensitized to everything. But there's is definetely a correlation between desensitation and becoming a fuitant. Maybe the message is "Ok we've become Desensitized to everything, now for something new we must become futants. " Crazy idea but nonetheless a new one and I like it.

[paraflux]

you sound totally confident that your interpretation is the only real meaning anyone should come up with. Although I don't necessarily disagree with you, I think you might gain more satisfaction in the realization that we are each responsible for our own realities, and if someone decides that for them, Stinkfist is about being in a field full of flowers and taking bong hits of opium, then I say more power to them. Like Maynard said, he won't spoonfeed us and rob us of our personal experiences, which is why he keeps quiet about what HE thinks the songs mean. He is above all that, and we therefore think for ourselves.

[æonblue]

hey, I don't mean to sound like a pretentious fuck, but that's what I am, so that's how it comes across. I recognize that all of tool's music is open for your own interpretation. Part of what makes tool so great is the fact that it's so ambiguous in its lyrics and videos and art, that the interpretation spectrum is so vast that it virtually covers all aspects of life. The same can't be said for any other band ever. What other band can claim to having a song interpreted as being about ass-fisting, relationships, desensitization, drug use, religion, etc. and most likely have all interpretations off-base with the band's intention? Using the ocean as a metaphor for the field encompassing all music, tool is like the deep, dark trenches of the ocean that no one can truly ever see or reach, and we can only really guess as to what's actually going on; whereas, all the other music never quite reaches that depth, and the majority of it lies upon the shallow shorelines where herds of fat fucking human viruses can tap into its pulse and fully comprehend its base, fucking neanderthal meaning, if there is one. That's what makes tool special. I'm not saying anyone's interpretation is wrong; it's impossible to have a wrong interpretation. A song is what it means to you; thus, there's no right or wrong interpretation. But, I believe the interpretation of the song and album I posted earlier is the band's actual meaning. It makes perfect sense. Read the liner notes. It's basically right there. They spell out the whole meaning of the album for you right in the booklet. Evolution and change through the use of hallucinogenic drugs (Squeegying your third eye) and the questioning of authority. The visual tribute to hicks doesn't hurt my idea either. I'll be posting my views on various other songs on this album soon, so keep an eye or three out if you're at all interested in what I have to say...

[Chuckhawk]

I really like your interpretation of the song, aeon.

[crack]

i like your take on the way the music/lyrics interlock, esp. the part in the middle, with the 'newer version' of the original riff. i had the same opinion about the lyrics, and the same about the music, but neglected to put 2 and 2 together and see what should have been as bright as day.

i dont know about your whole 'i know what the song is REALLY about bit. but maybe you're just trying to be funny.

[volcano lance]

I think by far thats the best interpretation of the song yet.

[Chuckhawk]

I don't think we could ever know the real meaning to any of Tool's songs because Maynard layers his lyrics... but that just leaves us room to play around with them. Tool is a great rainy-day band.

[stinkfist21]

Well, since stinkfist is my favorite song, I have stong opinions about it, but I like yours very much. There is a lot of dead ideas floating around out there, its nice to hear a new, fresh, and well thought out one.

[stinkfist21]

Now that I have thought about it a bit more, how do you reconcile the title of the song with your theory?

I suppose you could say it is just a red herring, a diversion so people think the song is actually about fisting, but when you dig a bit deeper that it is actually about ascension. I don't really think you can do that though. I don't think you can discard the title of a song, which is arguably the most important, lyrically.

I certainly agree that the album is about evolving, and evolving to a FUTANT, esp. considering the songs 46 & 2, Pushit, Ænema, and 3rd eye. However, I would argue that in order to make a strong case for evolution Tool would first show that the current situation is a poor one. To say we need to evolve because that is the natural course of things, and we have the ability to is a strong argument. But a stronger one would be to say, look, things are messed up, we need to do something. Here is what we should do.

So, I would say that Stinkfist and Eulogy are more about stating the case for evolution, and not about that evolution itself. Your thoughts, and, more importantly, how does the title of the song fit into your theory Stinkfist as a song about evolution?

[Hogpile]

Hey Aeon, I liked your version of what the song is about, if for no other reason it was well thought out, and your post is one of the few I've read that were that long and interesting. However, I would like to hear your explanation that if the whole album, is in fact, about that concept than how do the songs useful idiot, message to Harry etc, and Pushit come in? I think this album deals with a wide array of concepts that the band does not neccesarily even believe in, but rather just thought that some of the themes covered in this album would amusing to toss in everyone's direction and see the reactions. I look forward to reading your other ideas on other albums and songs.

[neveragain]

Outstanding interpretation, well thought out, good analogies, great confidence, I must add one thing, though, about your point about the guitar riff changing. I would hesitate to agree with you that the music changing slightly during verses is supposed to correlate with the lyrics. Although the "bridge" riff is close to the main verse riff it is different. As far as I'm concerned TOOL's music is built around their own formula: a couple verses, a couple choruses, a bridge, and a coda, with lots of alterations, and improv's and extended solos and whatnot mixed in. I attribute the subtle changes in riffing by Adam to the fact that he has a great sense of rythem and knows how to change the music slightly to give any particular song more character. Many guitarists have mastered this technique, and listening to Adam, I would say he has a good feel for such guitarists, Jimmy Page (Rythem parts), Dave Gilmore (Rythem parts), Keith Richards, James Hetfield amongst others incorporate similar techniques in their playing. You're right, though, he works extremely well with Maynard, to add depth to a continuos riff. One more thing, I'm not trying to step on your theory, I could have never come up with what you did, just a stupid opinion of mine. Kudos

[OpiAtE_666]

Originally posted by æonblue
Using the ocean as a metaphor for the field encompassing all music, tool is like the deep, dark trenches of the ocean that no one can truly ever see or reach, and we can only really guess as to what's actually going on; whereas, all the other music never quite reaches that depth, and the majority of it lies upon the shallow shorelines where herds of fat fucking human viruses can tap into its pulse and fully comprehend its base, fucking neanderthal meaning, if there is one. That's what makes tool special.

That mini-rant right there totally reminded me of Bill Hicks. Good metaphor.

[OpiAtE_666]

My interpretation of stinkfist:

In the words of Bill Hicks our society needs to "evolve ideas". We need to bring on a change that will help us think in a new way. Tool is saying that this change might be painful at first, but you'll get used to it, and society as a whole will benefit. We can go through life thinking and believing the same things that past generations have, but "boredom's not a burden anyone should bear." So we should push the boundaries of censorship, we should overstimulate ourselves because from here, we can only go forward, we can't turn back now.

Tool is so fucking cool that they don't just come out and say it. They don't say "we need to think differently and evolve." Instead they write a song about anal fisting, sexual over-stimulation, and use it as a metaphor for over-stimulation of the mind...

I agree with aeon that the main theme of aenima is evolution. This song happens to be about "evolving" by pushing the boundaries of censorship and the media.


Then again, it's Tool, I could be wrong..

[æonblue]

I've posted interpretations on Pushit and (-) Ions and you can find them in their respective pages or whatever you call them. I guess I should post more but have been too lazy to do so. I think I'll go do my interpretation of eulogy, which should help explain a little more of my theory, I guess. I'm sure you can grasp what I'd say for forty-six & 2 and third eye, but ask if you want me to post them too. my h. interpretation is similar to my pushit one, but I will post that if requested. I guess I'll post anything on request, including other albums, songs, videos, aart, etc, but I don't have ideas for all of them, especially with regards to the album lateralus