Stranger in the room inhales a long pull off the bong & breaks the silence:
“If you look at the first letters used in the all the album names, Tool have used all the Vowels. A E I O U”, Pointing out each letter on the posters across the room. He exhales the hit as he forgets what he was talking about, slowly retracting his finger from the air. Everyone waits for him to continue as they slowly, one by one, go back to what they were doing. Nobody wants him to continue, but then he does.
“Right! It’s the SYLLABLES. The syllables in the song add up to the Fibonacci number. Three point four, or whatever.” Cringe. I feel my neck twitch behind my ear. Shut up, kid. You’re way out of your league. I pull one headphone out and continue staring at my computer screen.
“Yeah these guys turn their songs into math and make it really complicated. All of their work is really deep. I learned one of their songs on guitar, and it’s BY FAR the hardest song I know. You should really listen to these guys!”
This guy can’t be older than 22, maybe 23. He couldn’t have heard of Tool before this year... maybe a wise older brother turned him onto them early? Who knows, but I know this guy. This fan. He’s the fan I used to be, trying to enlighten people about this band I just heard of and their newest album, Lateralus. I can’t help myself.
“What do you mean, turn their songs into math? Like algebra?”, I ask with my best quizzical look. He doesn’t know that I studied music theory through college, and can play most of Tool’s catalogue on bass and guitar, or that I have studied the finite details of the efforts and musicianship displayed in their work. All he knows is that I’m listening, and that’s all he needs.
“Well all their songs are really complicated because they don’t just 1-2-3-4 like normal”, he explains while clapping along and bobbing his head. “Their songs are like 1-2-3-1-2-1-2-3” he recites, while clapping and bobbing a little faster. “And, not just to three, sometimes they count to six, or seven!” He says with honest excitement in his eyes. “You never know when they’re going to change!”
Almost. He’s almost got it. I overcome the urge to elaborate and correct him, but I’ve got a little bit of time left, and I don’t want to discourage him. He’s clearly learned something, and maybe he’ll continue that path. Either way, the show must go on.
“That seems like it would sound terrible. Isn’t music supposed to be a certain way for it to sound like a song?” I ask, pausing the music in my remaining earbud.
He pauses to think about the question. He surprises me with politician-like Q&A athleticism.
“That’s just the thing! These guys are geniuses! They make it work. And it sounds super psychedelic, too. My brother listened to them on mushrooms once, and he said it was like meeting God!”

There it is. Your brother already sounds cooler than you. You should hang out with your brother more. My guess is your brother is probably 6-10 years older than you are, and has seen Tool a handful of times, and you spent your recent teen years wearing that old Tool shirt he left behind when he finally moved out. Your brother probably discovered Tool in high school, sitting on the floor alone in his bedroom. He’s devoted. I know this fan. He’s the fan I used to be. I go to comment on how cool his brother is, but an overwhelming urge to stop keeps the words from passing my mouth. I’ve learned to trust these signs and let the universe guide my next steps. I choose my words carefully.
“Oh yeah? Your brother sounds pretty cool.” I say with a friendly tone as he gathers another hit into the chamber of his bong.
“Um,” he pauses to clear the smoke and exhales. “Well, he died last year.” He says. I can see the THC fill the capillaries in his face, and his eyes gloss over as he stairs at the corner of the table. “He lived in Seattle a couple years ago, then one day my mom got a call that he OD’ed.”
Wow. This guy is an extrovert, isn’t he? Welp, here we are. “I’m so sorry. That couldn’t have been easy.” I feel like I learn this kids life story in an instant. Abandoned by his influential cool older brother at a pivotal influential time. He didn’t understand why he had to go, and he never got to say goodbye.
“Yeah, but he loved Tool. I still have all his CDs and stuff.” He says, collecting himself. “They’re like, original vintage.”
“And they were your brothers gift to you, so that makes them priceless.” I remind him as I close my laptop and put it in my bag signaling that I’ve got to go. “Hey, you should listen to Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days when you’re thinking about him.” I say, giving myself away as a Tool fan. I see the realization come over him as I walk over to thank my AirBnB host. I put my earbuds back in and tap the ending to Pneuma on my chest as I walk into the city.


Don’t forget- we are all here to take care of each other. Even the annoying rookies that just started their path. Love each other.