trey5winds

You know, I'm not sure what to think about the video. I think, symbolically, it's a little dense in some places and a little sparse in others. I find that I don't have that much of a reaction to it, which is kind of sad, because all the other TOOL videos usually draw me in very deep.

This one didn't, though, and it's hard to say why. It could be because it came out only after the album was released and the tour was finished or near finished (I forget exactly which, but I think they'd completed all their touring commitments before finishing and releasing this video) - that kind of work situation can have an effect on a project. I like the way the video looks; it's very well-done in terms of computer graphics imaging. And it's not like the song's lyrics don't have anything to contribute to this - if anything, they're more creative fuel for this fire. But this video didn't really affect me in any particular way.

In hindsight, it may be because of what the lyrics tell about - how we as a society have become so numb to shocking headlines and outrageous deeds that we sort of turn on our individual (and collective) autopilot drives when faced with such extreme negativity. Maynard has a point in that some people get positively turned on by these kinds of headlines; I don't, however - I find I don't want to know about it and would rather see, hear, or read about something else, preferably completely unrelated to the news, much less "shocking" news.

I find the bit at the end (the animation engaging the tight unison runs at the end of the song) the most engaging, and I've read with interest many of the replies on here about the black sun perhaps being the planet's eye seen at the end - it's not a bad thing to imagine, and it fits very well.

I just recently re-watched it again, something I haven't done since the release, thinking there's something I might've missed, but I have very much the same reaction to it as I did on my first few viewings - I tend not to want to watch (until the end).

The only other factor I can think of is song choice - I would love to see the band do a video for "Right In Two" or "Rosetta Stoned" (with or without the "Lost Keys" prelude). And I heard they'd shot something for "The Pot", but that's the one song off the album that I don't like as much as I like everything else. So, eh - whatever, as far as that goes.

It does occur to me that the video for "Vicarious" does have one other notable, significant factor - the main character, more or less, does nothing - he simply watches the entire world around him explode, and then explodes himself when he really does nothing about the situation he finds himself in. He's a passive participant at best. If he'd tried to do anything about it, perhaps the video (and the song) would've ended much differently in the minds of the storytellers.

But that's about all I can think of.

I note with slight interest that probably every other observation made on this post about the video is probably many times better than this little contribution by yours truly, but for some reason, I felt moved to try and respond anyway. I hope there are more (and better) explanations than what I've written here.

__________________
"It's only at the turning point that you find out how you fight."

from "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" by Genesis