evolution of tool

[spiraleyes]

I've had my share of interpretations of this song but my latest one makes the most sense. I think this song is about how Tool is always changing and the writing process they go through. If you think this seems a little farfetched just take the time to read below.

"Black and white are all I see in my infancy red and yellow then came to be reaching out to me lets me see there is so much more that beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities"

When Tool first came out their music was great yet they had not yet made it that complex, then around Aenima they began developing deeper meanings and expanding the boundaries.

"As below so above and beyond I imagine drawing outside the lines of reason push the envelope watch it bend"

The band discovers that their music can be anything they want it to be.

"Over thinking over analyzing separate the body from the mind withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line"

In order to realize what they want the song their writing to be about they need to find a median of thinking so the song is complex but they don't get frustrated.

"Reaching out to embrace the random reaching out to embrace whatever may come"

The need to experiment with different ideas and be inspired by anything that comes to mind.

"I embrace my desire to feel the rythym to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow to feel inspired to fathom the power to witness the beauty to bathe in the fountain to swing on a spiral"

Writing the song and feeling a connection to every song they create, make something unique, and see how amazing and moving a song can be.

"Swing on a spiral of our divinity and still be a human"

Dwelling on being more creative yet knowing that they are still just humans.

"With my feet upon the ground I move myself between the sound and open wide to suck it in I feel it move across my skin I'm reaching up and reaching out I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me whatever will bewilder me following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been we'll ride the spiral to the end it may just go where no ones been spiral out keep going"

Playing the music and loving every second of what they are experiencing and stating the music will get more complex every time and never cease to amaze.

[Mehhico]

I must say that this does seem to be a bit of an interesting aspect to Tools' music. I have thought about their music in this kind of reference before, and although it is unlikely that it is the "main" idea of the songs, I don't think it can be dismissed. You can see it in a lot of their songs, such as Stinkfist (getting deeper and deeper into their songs meanings and finally you "just need it"), The Patient (although you may find a song tedius and painfully long, the rewards at the end of it will be more worth it. Even as we are trying to understand particular songs, there are a lot of loving embraces to see us through [eg- great drum pieces, etc]) and Lateralus (as you have just mentioned - quite well, I might add).
As the members have stated in previous interviews, they really just want to write the albums to reflect what they were doing and how they were feeling at the time. Then let the albums take a life of their own, once released. I think this can be related to your interpretation because Maynard uses the first person to describe certain things (like "I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm", and "With my feet upon the ground"). It almost sounds as if he is describing his personal feelings when writing.
I got dissed when I brought this subject up a while ago on this forum, but I think it was because everyone thought that I was trying to say that this was Tools' primary objective when they were writing the songs, which I don't believe is true. But as I stated before, it does make a lot of sense, as Tool fans, to see this sort of connection between their songs and the way we relate and understand their music. It just make sense.
I hope I made sense.

Kind regards,
Andy

[spiraleyes]

I see your point as in they are pretty much always putting themselves into their music as with the songs you've mentioned plus more. However, I feel that this song is more about the band than anything else every lyric on every line if thought about very
well supports what I have stated.

Another thing when people mock you for what you say about your thoughts on tool like you have said just remind them they are not a member of tool nor will they ever know what goes on in maynards head. I'm not saying I'm special and I do, but I don't frequently put people down on a page designed for one to be able to speak his/her own opinion.