sadi
11-19-2002, 09:14 AM
I've have a lot of reservations about this song. Though I love the musical talent goes into all Tool songs, this one didn't seem to fit into the Lateralus theme. An album filled with a spiritual ambience-like mood that really exemplifies the growth of their talents, both musically and intellectually-- and stuck right in the middle, a song relatively harsh in nature and lacking the "celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing" theme. This is the best I could come up with:
As mentioned in a previous post, many Tool fans were whining about a new album. But beyond that, it was the fans of hard rock rather than actual Tool fans that simply wanted new hard music. Since so many of the bands that started out around the same time as Tool had broken down and stopped producing music, these fans of "hard rock" were relying on Tool to give them something to 'mosh' about.
And then comes Lateralus. I think the band anticipated the reaction they would recieve from so-called fans who weren't expecting an album so unlike previous ones. And I think it is to these people that Maynard sings "Is this what you wanted?" That being the only hard song on the album, those who were hungry for hard music will naturally tend to that song. "Hope this is what you wanted. Hope this is what you had in mind. Cuz this is what you're getting" Sadly, the joy they will get from this song is all the joy they will get from the entire album. And Maynard saying "I hope you choke on it" is his disappointmet that so many people will fail to see the true beauty that lies beneath their hard rock stigmata.
And as always, I try to see the bigger picture. Perhaps this isn't just about music fans and an album, but about human nature in general. What we want to see is what we will see. And what we don't want to find, we won't. And if we fail to open ourselves to different perspectives, we will eventually choke on the one we have.
As mentioned in a previous post, many Tool fans were whining about a new album. But beyond that, it was the fans of hard rock rather than actual Tool fans that simply wanted new hard music. Since so many of the bands that started out around the same time as Tool had broken down and stopped producing music, these fans of "hard rock" were relying on Tool to give them something to 'mosh' about.
And then comes Lateralus. I think the band anticipated the reaction they would recieve from so-called fans who weren't expecting an album so unlike previous ones. And I think it is to these people that Maynard sings "Is this what you wanted?" That being the only hard song on the album, those who were hungry for hard music will naturally tend to that song. "Hope this is what you wanted. Hope this is what you had in mind. Cuz this is what you're getting" Sadly, the joy they will get from this song is all the joy they will get from the entire album. And Maynard saying "I hope you choke on it" is his disappointmet that so many people will fail to see the true beauty that lies beneath their hard rock stigmata.
And as always, I try to see the bigger picture. Perhaps this isn't just about music fans and an album, but about human nature in general. What we want to see is what we will see. And what we don't want to find, we won't. And if we fail to open ourselves to different perspectives, we will eventually choke on the one we have.