Tool - Rosetta Stoned.

In case you hadn't noticed, 10,000 Days is filled with references to past work, both lyrically and musically. Opiate and Undertow where their first announcements, telling us all to listen up. Ænima and Lateralus were their true works, pushing us to think outside of the box, to even live outside of the box. That is what Lateralus left us with, life outside the box. Interpretations of Lateralus and (to a lesser extent) Ænima can be as complex or as simple as you like, it could be a cryptic revealing of the meaning of life according to Maynard James Keenan, it could be him bitching about his girlfriend. 10,000 Days is Tool telling us that they have told us all that they really needed to say, they made it not to push us more, but to tell us that we now need to push ourselves, to stand on our own two feet, open our Third Eyes. There should be no need to pry anymore.

Rosetta Stoned's beginning is a young Tool fan, who has gone out, purchased their discography and become "so alive, in this way". They think they have found the ultimate purpose of life, and that Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Maynard James Keenan are now Gods. They are not.

10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes,
in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51
Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy

This is the average life of an average teenager, perhaps a little nerdy, with few friends. Perfect oppurtunity to listen to Tool, you might say.

when a flaming stealth banana split the sky
like one would hope but never really expect
to see in a place like this.
Cutting right angle donuts on a dime
and stopping right at my Birkenstocks,
and me yelping...

Holy fucking shit!

Then the X-Files being,
Looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan
with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of
vanilla Chig Champa
Did a slow-mo Matrix descent
Outta the butt end of the banana vessel
And hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw,
and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip,
and all I could think was:
"I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice
that I pissed my fuckin' pants."

Flaming stealth? Yes, while a majority of those who listen to Tool will not spend hours upon hours picking apart every second of music and words, there are definite messages should you choose to look for them. Birkenstocks suggest that even a fully grown adult can buy the things that Tool feed them, but really, inside, they are all children, completely underdeveloped on the grand scale of existence. Only an infant should piss their fuckin' pants. In this section, the music makes many references to H. Let me see...

They're both totally void of hate,
But killing me just the same.

Both Tool and the anti-Tool (be it the Bush administration, L. Ron Hubbard or some interviewer from MTV) have no real vendetta against the world, they will still take parts of the individual listener's brain, and set up camp there.

Venomous voice, tempts me,
Drains me, bleeds me.

******************************


So light in his way,
Like an apparition, that
He had me crying out,
"Fuck me
It's gotta be
the Deadhead Chemistry
The blotter got right on top of me
Got me seein' E-motherfuckin'-T!"

Many Tool fans talk of amazing experiences they've had while inside the spiral that is Tool, under the influence of drugs, simply looking at an Alex Grey painting. Now it seems, for this particular listener, these things are actually happening. No more kidding yourself. Yet still, there is familiarity with their concocted stories, it's gotta be the Deadhead Chemistry. You are a child. Even ET rode a little bicycle with a basket.

And after calming me down
with some orange slices
and some fetal spooning,
E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
He said, "You are the Chosen One,
the One who will deliver the message.
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!!!
And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school.

This section follows a similar path, the fetal spooning is just accepting blindly what your idol will tell you.

You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better listen.

Yes, you had. Listen with your mind, not just your ears. Good music means nothing if you will submit to propaganda so easily.

Then he looked right through me
With somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding
'Cause this shit never happens to me

I can't breathe right now!

It was so real,
Like I woke up in Wonderland.
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be all alone
While I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why
Y'all sound like Peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally, it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing
'Cause this shit never happens to me

I can't breathe right now!

You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I've just said!
See the Dead ain't touring
And this wasn't all in my head.
See, they took me by the hand
And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin.

By now, you should really know what the message is, but no, they still realise there is pushing to do. They reiterate, again and again.

Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed.

It seems now that you understand what they were trying to tell you all along. However, the venomous voice has consumed you. You are still weak, you still shit the bed, and yes, you are out of your head. Get a grip. They are not Gods.

Next follows a riff from Led Zeppelin's No Quarter, which Tool have covered.

Lock the door, kill the light
No one's coming home tonight

Strapped down to your home, inside your head.

Have you got cold feet yet?

*****************************************

Now, bask in the music. Dwell in the Schism, listen to the Venomous Voice, lock the door and kill the light, if just for a while. You know the pieces fit.

***KNOW***YOUR***ENEMY***

Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.

You have achieved enlightenment, but why would you want to ruin it for everyone else? Destroy their experience? It's obvious that anyone who listens to Lateralus with their mind, not ears will understand given time. It's what Tool intended. However, not all Tool fans will. Listen to the guitar work here. Tool fans, cut and divided Right In Two.

You don't know, you won't know. You never will know.

It's good luck that you forgot your pen.

wow, that was an interpretation i ahve never thought of. it makes sense to me. i think its ONE of the many meanings of rosseta stoned. definitely

INSIGHTFUL...really..
most of us out here have misunderstood tool..
just listening to them doesnt make you THE ENLIGHTENED ONE
they are not a bunch of gods or their representatives..
tool just guide us to start the journey...
you yourself have to determine the path..
THINK FOR YOURSELF AND QUESTION AUTHORITY...

What an interpretation....good evidence too. I come to mostly read now, and that filled me up...

Oh shut up already.

Boo.

They are musicians doing what makes them happy.

oh sorry sir,
i didnt know you would poke your dumb-ass in this thread too

another good thread debased...

everything seems to fall in place. yet i can't get past this supposed concept of duality... may even be more sides to each song/the album itself. however this theory practically hits the nail on the head for one of the messages, one who's familliar with the past working's of tool, might not expect, but eventually encounter. then again i am watching some program on showtime that i just realized was about tits... hmm... maybe it's all rellevant.

*SIGH* We've missed the whole gosh dang point. . . .

it just takes a bit of empty headed sarcasm

There is nothing good about your regurgitation of slices of information you picked up here and there.
If you ever had, oh, i dunno, A FUCKING POINT, i might be able to critisize that, or maybe we could have a discussion.
I am no more responsible for the debasement of this thread than you are for the thoughts in your head.
Grow the fuck up and think; you know, for yourself while questioning authority.
You offer nothing.
The sarcasm serves a purpose.
So shut the fucking fuck the fuck up.

Score:
Jevons: 1,000,000
Author of the Bible: 0

sorry^my 2 cents. Jevons never loses.


***Anyway.

I actually really like this interpretation, and being the first post I've read by you (duncang) in particular, I'm really impressed.

One word. Strassmann.

you' better listen. Strassmann. holy fucking Strassmann.. :D

take your head out of your ass and see,
thinking means more than criticising every next person around

Jevons can be an asshole, but I'm guessing he wants to see more of background of where you're coming from with the info. I'm not in support of him, but he has an awful nasty of way of trying to get his point across (don't take it personally, it gives him a better reason to keep going on - most of the time he's drinking... lol.)

i appreciate that..

That original post was just jam packed full of fuck smack. I think the ultimate point made a little sense and I only read about halfway down but from what I did read seemed like you were fucking clueless and just talking out of your anus. Sorry but, that's my opinion.

i didnt read the op

i just wanted to say that Tool, with this song, proves how they can take something ordinary (like the very plain riff that starts the song off) and make it extraordinary. I love this tune.

another thing is how the title of this song was really just begging to be grabbed by someone; and I think our Tool buddies were the only ones up to the job... any other band that would've taken this title for a song would've screwed it up badly; either making the lyrics too literal or extrapolating them... but I think Tool hit the nail right in the center.

what do you think?

definitley dude. if any band could pull it off, it'd be tool. plus even if they messed it up it be funny in some way cuz its TOOL. ya know?

i hear ya.

just imagine, a song named "Rosetta Stoned" by any other band... it would just suck ass...

of course, to really get it, you need to know what the Rosetta Stone is in the first place, and that's why tool fans are a bit smarter than the rest of them...

this is all, of course, imho.

You know, I really have a hard time swallowing this guys interpretation. So, this song is about people who regard Tool as Gods? I mean, half the beauty of Tool songs is the fact that you can tie a lot of different meanings to them. However, this one I happen to disagree with, but I'm not going to break the man's balls.

Inner and Jevons have a bad habit of chastising people. Over what? Fucking song meanings. I mean if you feel like you know what the song is about, or what's it's definitely not about, fine. Just don't go around breaking knee-caps with baseballs bats via these threads when something doesn't jive quite right with you. There's a such thing as being civil when you disagree. You can even voice the fact, but don't go thread to thread looking to take the wind out of someone's sails.

Inner isn't nearly as bad about this as Jevons. Who knows, maybe they've cooled down a little recently. Esurient, Iota, and nabiliofadilio.... You guys are wonderful with tact and I feel like I could talk to you guys without you bleating something like I dunno, "YOU'RE TOTALLY FUCKING WRONG YOU HAVE NO POINT AND CONTRIBUTE NOTHING!" Um.... Really?? I mean really, really?? That much intensity because of someone's interpretation, or lack of one that satisfies you? Esurient you're a cool guy. I don't know theauthorofthebible, but it's not cool to cheer someone who cuts people down. I mean most of the threads I've seen Jevon in, well, there is always extra friction. Then, at some point, someone gets offended and comes back with more spiteful shit to say, in turn producing a thread that's nothing more than a ghetto-psuedo-intellectual knock-down-drag-out-smack-talking battle of wits. Esurient, you even called him out, so props to you. The other guy was grateful for that.

Sorry for the rant. Regarding this song... Anybody ever heard of Terrance McKenna?

My bad, I've been working really hard lately on my narcissistic tendancies and I've been getting better on not being a complete ass. Anyhow, Terrance McKenna is the author of "The Spirit Molecule" however, I have not read it yet.

GODAMMIT, CHEESE

YOU'RE TOTALLY FUCKING WRONG YOU HAVE NO POINT AND CONTRIBUTE NOTHING!

jk

i think jevons is a witty poster. he's crazy though... i've never had a confrontation with him.

About Rosetta Stoned, I find the relationship between the rosetta stone and the alien encounter intriguing. Do some people believe that the rosetta stone came from aliens? I doubt it, but the whole thing about different tongues and babylon and shit is interesting...

/rant

yeah, if ANY other band tried to pull it off they would end up looking stupid and ignorant. man i love tool....

I think I agree with the main point of the OP post. I almost made a thread basically saying the same thing and that is this:

Fans, we love you. we love that you think we are the chosen ones, the ones who will deliver THE message. Yes, fans, we do deliver messages. Helpful messages. inspiring messages, but we have NOT, are NOT, and will NOT EVER deliver THE message....we forgot our pen. Good luck, enjoy your lives, and be inspired.