the overall point of this album is simple, while past tool albums have been about human evolution and reaching the next plain of enlightentment, as well as being above all this stupidness that is what every individual frets over, this album is about actually being a human being, these guys are gettin old and they are seeing the the finality of life, this album is about admiting that yes they believe in so much more but what it comes down to is they are just human,

vicarious.. yes i see how fucked up the world is but it turns me on just like everyone else, theres not much you can do about it

jambi.. yes im asshole to my loved ones at times, and i endulge in the pleasures of life, even though i know im capable of so much more

wings/10k... i cry to.. i have a mom to... im human just like you... i believe theres more that just a god.. but i pray if im wrong my mother gets what she deserves

the pot...im hypocrytical at times... ive been caught calling the kettle black..sure i dont beleive in god but i hope my mom goes to heaven??? yes im stubborn but im human

lost keys.. shit i lost my keys, just anyone could

Rosetta.. fuck i shit the bed

Intension.. listen to your momma and dadda

right in two .... im divided in this album i dont beleive in god but i preach about it, im scared and disgusted by the world to

viginti tres... 23 find out what it means suckers


looking back i may have been a little drunk when i wrote this but my point is strong

Yes, the feeling you get is that they are just human, but don´t underestimate the power of human emotion. Songs like Right in Two have a huge impact on my thoughts and feelings. I think 10,000 days is as strong, or if not, stronger than the other albums in the ability to change to way we think of the world.

Heh, I love your overimplified analisation... There's some truth in what you're saying, definitely...

short but simple point of the album. well, you could be right on your thoughts as well as there could be several others of points in each song. thats is whats amazing about tools music. you can decide what YOU think its about, and it could mean everything thats in your imagination.

Lost keys = die verlorenen Schlüssel der Wahrnehmung (haven't got a clue what that is in English), Albert Hofmann thought that LSD shows you something real, that you couldn't see in the usual world and taking you to a higher state of mind.

die verlorenen Schlüssel der Wahrnehmung = the lost keys of the perception

They have said this throughout their career. They have always stressed that point.

I see the point of this album as tool testing their main message over the years. Do our fans think for themselves.

this made me laugh.

imo...

aenema was about the purging of mind, body and world. lateralus depicted the spiritual conquest achievable by the human unshackled from social games and values.

10k is the re-integration, a return to a previous form, with the protaganist clutching at vanishing feelings of extacy and enlightenment. spiritual concepts remain but must be re-interprited in a more mundane way in order to co-exist with everyday physical reality. Feelings and emotions become more poignant, and one becomes aware of themselves, beginning to nurture their ego's despite what past experience has taught them. 10k is the come-down

Its about wasting time...
watching junk TV, wasting 10,000 days in a comma, complaining, doing pointless activities like shitting the bed and killing monkeys...

Well perhaps not killing monkeys, that sounds quite fun!

Its like being retired.

i didnt like this analysis of the album at all.

I don't think anyone spent 10,000 days in a comma (or a coma either!)! She was paralyzed, that's not the same as being in a coma

oh but there are sequences. Vicarious and Jambi. Part One and Part two obviously. From Lipan Conjuring to Lost Keys to Rosetta Stoned. From Intension to Right in Two. Think of it as several "mini-series" each telling a different piece of the larger story. It can be such a beautiful thing. The pieces fit. Of course the meanings of the song differ. That is because the meaning of Life differs from one situation to the next.

Cheers.

Oh. silly me. Well, I think that we've all learned that it's rather quite difficult to really get what some one means, a lot of times by reading words on message boards. You were talking about musically, and I was more looking at it lyrically. See what I mean. It's Tool, and with thie band we CAN have our cake and eat it too, so put that in youe pipe and smoke it. ;)

This is not directed at you Fredy Brown, but when I hear about interviews from Maynard saying he was "expressing disgust and disappointment that people haven't understood Tool's message or at least haven't done anything about it." And then I come here, a haven of TooL fans and see all the name calling and F-this and F-that, and a certain hostile tendency to blow off other people's opinions....I can't say that I disagree with Maynard in that regard. If TooL fans specifically don't get it, and we hear the message...

Yeah, you seem to have summed up quite a bit about the album better than a lot of people have managed. Not saying that you're definitely 'right' or anything, just that I can connect with what you wrote a lot.

Excellent post man, I like that a lot.

Pretty good... especially "Rosetta.. fuck i shit the bed", that's exactly what I got out of it too. This album's very different from all the other albums... more of a sense of resignation... all the others were more looking to the future optimistically, albeit with immense rage about the present... but as they say, anger is productive... complaining about monkeys and vampires, not so much.

Hmmm. I don't know if I agree with all of your interpretations, but I think you are getting the gist of what you mean across. The uncertainty of everyone, including Maynard. How everyone has some kind of belief that has two sides. How everyone wants to be self-righteous but at some point, has questioned or gone against it.

The point of this album is epitomized by the statement:

"Goddamn, shit the bed."

/end discussion.

id say the albums theme is to put down the pipe and open your eyes

the point of it is to listen to it and not overanalyze it. get with the program.

Nice perspective. And an equally intelligent summary.

Especially, the ONE line you chose for Rosetta. I like to interpret that as, "I've soiled the foundation for my dreams" metaphorically, of course. And opening with "God damn"...well, self explanatory. Cool.

It's about religion... well, more base... I guess "faith". It's about how faith brings out the absolute best and worst in people.

lol..they are not THAT old

you're all wrong. the simple purpose of this album was to make maynerd and co. more money, you silly silly people

^ well, yeah! But besides that?

(Please not the tone of sarcasm in my voice...)

Nice post, I agree, oversimplified, but you got the right idea.

Just to add to your point, YES they are human, that's why they specifically took individual portrait shots for the album. The first time they've ever clearly showed their faces in their art.

Agreed about the re-integration...

But I'm also thinking more along the lines of multiple facets of existence, prior to any current realm, along with the trancendence (sp?) and transitional evolution of one's soul.

The album doesn't mean anything... they got lazy and threw a bunch of random songs together. GET OVER IT!

^ I hate it when they do that!

me too iota

God, I know! I feel like shit liking something that the band didn't take their time doing, you know?

:P

whatever. since all you guys must have been at the rehearsals and whatnot, I'm sure you know a hell of a lot more than anyone else.

i·ro·ny (r-n, r-)
n. pl. i·ro·nies

1.
1. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
2. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.
3. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See Synonyms at wit1.

i·o·ta (o-t, r-)

1.
1. A registered member of the online opinion forum of the unofficial website of the metal band Tool, who used to be a good poster, but with nowadays has come to the conclusion that it's better to have an image as a spammer, a Hip-Hop listener and a not native speaking American.
2. The reincarnation of Nosferatu.
3. Cheese.

What about the humuor!? To quote a cool aussie singer (Ash Grunwald) "Stop taking life so seriously" (repeat 5 times!). There is a lot of humour in all tool albums, which is sometimes missed by people looking to the spiritual realizations hinted at in other parts of the album. laughter, enjoyment of life, true humour are all defining features of "enlightened ones" anyway.

iota
One entry found for iota.
Main Entry: io·ta
Pronunciation: I-'O-t&
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from Greek iOta, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew yOdh yod
1 : the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet -- see ALPHABET table
2 : an infinitesimal amount : JOT <did not show an iota of interest>

I have a fan!

You mean the reincarnation of Shirley Temple...

.

;)