duncang
03-31-2007, 03:19 AM
Tool - Rosetta Stoned.
In case you hadn't noticed, 10,000 Days is filled with references to past work, both lyrically and musically. Opiate and Undertow where their first announcements, telling us all to listen up. Ænima and Lateralus were their true works, pushing us to think outside of the box, to even live outside of the box. That is what Lateralus left us with, life outside the box. Interpretations of Lateralus and (to a lesser extent) Ænima can be as complex or as simple as you like, it could be a cryptic revealing of the meaning of life according to Maynard James Keenan, it could be him bitching about his girlfriend. 10,000 Days is Tool telling us that they have told us all that they really needed to say, they made it not to push us more, but to tell us that we now need to push ourselves, to stand on our own two feet, open our Third Eyes. There should be no need to pry anymore.
Rosetta Stoned's beginning is a young Tool fan, who has gone out, purchased their discography and become "so alive, in this way". They think they have found the ultimate purpose of life, and that Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan are now Gods. They are not.
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes,
in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51
Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy
This is the average life of an average teenager, perhaps a little nerdy, with few friends. Perfect oppurtunity to listen to Tool, you might say.
when a flaming stealth banana split the sky
like one would hope but never really expect
to see in a place like this.
Cutting right angle donuts on a dime
and stopping right at my Birkenstocks,
and me yelping...
Holy fucking shit!
Then the X-Files being,
Looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan
with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of
vanilla Chig Champa
Did a slow-mo Matrix descent
Outta the butt end of the banana vessel
And hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw,
and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip,
and all I could think was:
"I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice
that I pissed my fuckin' pants."
Flaming stealth? Yes, while a majority of those who listen to Tool will not spend hours upon hours picking apart every second of music and words, there are definite messages should you choose to look for them. Birkenstocks suggest that even a fully grown adult can buy the things that Tool feed them, but really, inside, they are all children, completely underdeveloped on the grand scale of existence. Only an infant should piss their fuckin' pants. In this section, the music makes many references to H. Let me see...
They're both totally void of hate,
But killing me just the same.
Both Tool and the anti-Tool (be it the Bush administration, L. Ron Hubbard or some interviewer from MTV) have no real vendetta against the world, they will still take parts of the individual listener's brain, and set up camp there.
Venomous voice, tempts me,
Drains me, bleeds me.
******************************
So light in his way,
Like an apparition, that
He had me crying out,
"Fuck me
It's gotta be
the Deadhead Chemistry
The blotter got right on top of me
Got me seein' E-motherfuckin'-T!"
Many Tool fans talk of amazing experiences they've had while inside the spiral that is Tool, under the influence of drugs, simply looking at an Alex Grey painting. Now it seems, for this particular listener, these things are actually happening. No more kidding yourself. Yet still, there is familiarity with their concocted stories, it's gotta be the Deadhead Chemistry. You are a child. Even ET rode a little bicycle with a basket.
And after calming me down
with some orange slices
and some fetal spooning,
E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
He said, "You are the Chosen One,
the One who will deliver the message.
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!!!
And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school.
This section follows a similar path, the fetal spooning is just accepting blindly what your idol will tell you.
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better listen.
Yes, you had. Listen with your mind, not just your ears. Good music means nothing if you will submit to propaganda so easily.
Then he looked right through me
With somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding
'Cause this shit never happens to me
I can't breathe right now!
It was so real,
Like I woke up in Wonderland.
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be all alone
While I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why
Y'all sound like Peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally, it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing
'Cause this shit never happens to me
I can't breathe right now!
You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I've just said!
See the Dead ain't touring
And this wasn't all in my head.
See, they took me by the hand
And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin.
By now, you should really know what the message is, but no, they still realise there is pushing to do. They reiterate, again and again.
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed.
It seems now that you understand what they were trying to tell you all along. However, the venomous voice has consumed you. You are still weak, you still shit the bed, and yes, you are out of your head. Get a grip. They are not Gods.
Next follows a riff from Led Zeppelin's No Quarter, which Tool have covered.
Lock the door, kill the light
No one's coming home tonight
Strapped down to your home, inside your head.
Have you got cold feet yet?
*****************************************
Now, bask in the music. Dwell in the Schism, listen to the Venomous Voice, lock the door and kill the light, if just for a while. You know the pieces fit.
***KNOW***YOUR***ENEMY***
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.
You have achieved enlightenment, but why would you want to ruin it for everyone else? Destroy their experience? It's obvious that anyone who listens to Lateralus with their mind, not ears will understand given time. It's what Tool intended. However, not all Tool fans will. Listen to the guitar work here. Tool fans, cut and divided Right In Two.
You don't know, you won't know. You never will know.
It's good luck that you forgot your pen.
In case you hadn't noticed, 10,000 Days is filled with references to past work, both lyrically and musically. Opiate and Undertow where their first announcements, telling us all to listen up. Ænima and Lateralus were their true works, pushing us to think outside of the box, to even live outside of the box. That is what Lateralus left us with, life outside the box. Interpretations of Lateralus and (to a lesser extent) Ænima can be as complex or as simple as you like, it could be a cryptic revealing of the meaning of life according to Maynard James Keenan, it could be him bitching about his girlfriend. 10,000 Days is Tool telling us that they have told us all that they really needed to say, they made it not to push us more, but to tell us that we now need to push ourselves, to stand on our own two feet, open our Third Eyes. There should be no need to pry anymore.
Rosetta Stoned's beginning is a young Tool fan, who has gone out, purchased their discography and become "so alive, in this way". They think they have found the ultimate purpose of life, and that Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan are now Gods. They are not.
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes,
in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51
Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy
This is the average life of an average teenager, perhaps a little nerdy, with few friends. Perfect oppurtunity to listen to Tool, you might say.
when a flaming stealth banana split the sky
like one would hope but never really expect
to see in a place like this.
Cutting right angle donuts on a dime
and stopping right at my Birkenstocks,
and me yelping...
Holy fucking shit!
Then the X-Files being,
Looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan
with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of
vanilla Chig Champa
Did a slow-mo Matrix descent
Outta the butt end of the banana vessel
And hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw,
and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip,
and all I could think was:
"I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice
that I pissed my fuckin' pants."
Flaming stealth? Yes, while a majority of those who listen to Tool will not spend hours upon hours picking apart every second of music and words, there are definite messages should you choose to look for them. Birkenstocks suggest that even a fully grown adult can buy the things that Tool feed them, but really, inside, they are all children, completely underdeveloped on the grand scale of existence. Only an infant should piss their fuckin' pants. In this section, the music makes many references to H. Let me see...
They're both totally void of hate,
But killing me just the same.
Both Tool and the anti-Tool (be it the Bush administration, L. Ron Hubbard or some interviewer from MTV) have no real vendetta against the world, they will still take parts of the individual listener's brain, and set up camp there.
Venomous voice, tempts me,
Drains me, bleeds me.
******************************
So light in his way,
Like an apparition, that
He had me crying out,
"Fuck me
It's gotta be
the Deadhead Chemistry
The blotter got right on top of me
Got me seein' E-motherfuckin'-T!"
Many Tool fans talk of amazing experiences they've had while inside the spiral that is Tool, under the influence of drugs, simply looking at an Alex Grey painting. Now it seems, for this particular listener, these things are actually happening. No more kidding yourself. Yet still, there is familiarity with their concocted stories, it's gotta be the Deadhead Chemistry. You are a child. Even ET rode a little bicycle with a basket.
And after calming me down
with some orange slices
and some fetal spooning,
E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
He said, "You are the Chosen One,
the One who will deliver the message.
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!!!
And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school.
This section follows a similar path, the fetal spooning is just accepting blindly what your idol will tell you.
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better listen.
Yes, you had. Listen with your mind, not just your ears. Good music means nothing if you will submit to propaganda so easily.
Then he looked right through me
With somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding
'Cause this shit never happens to me
I can't breathe right now!
It was so real,
Like I woke up in Wonderland.
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be all alone
While I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why
Y'all sound like Peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally, it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing
'Cause this shit never happens to me
I can't breathe right now!
You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I've just said!
See the Dead ain't touring
And this wasn't all in my head.
See, they took me by the hand
And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin.
By now, you should really know what the message is, but no, they still realise there is pushing to do. They reiterate, again and again.
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed.
It seems now that you understand what they were trying to tell you all along. However, the venomous voice has consumed you. You are still weak, you still shit the bed, and yes, you are out of your head. Get a grip. They are not Gods.
Next follows a riff from Led Zeppelin's No Quarter, which Tool have covered.
Lock the door, kill the light
No one's coming home tonight
Strapped down to your home, inside your head.
Have you got cold feet yet?
*****************************************
Now, bask in the music. Dwell in the Schism, listen to the Venomous Voice, lock the door and kill the light, if just for a while. You know the pieces fit.
***KNOW***YOUR***ENEMY***
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.
You have achieved enlightenment, but why would you want to ruin it for everyone else? Destroy their experience? It's obvious that anyone who listens to Lateralus with their mind, not ears will understand given time. It's what Tool intended. However, not all Tool fans will. Listen to the guitar work here. Tool fans, cut and divided Right In Two.
You don't know, you won't know. You never will know.
It's good luck that you forgot your pen.