I realized something the other day. When I listen to Tool, I dont just listen, I feel, I see, and I smell. Most of the music in todays world, (even the good stuff), is only 2-Dimensional compared to Tools work. You might nod your head or tap your feet to a song, but Tool songs, when I listen to them, its more than listening to "music". It envelopes the spirit and all the senses. I cant just press play on a Tool song, I have to be there for the whole thing, I have to experience every minute, sing along passionately, and move my body in a gracefull metronome kind of way. Anyonee else feel me on this?

So what are you smelling when you pop in that Tool CD? Does it encode well to MP3?

I smell whats around me, I am awakened more to my enviroment. Any real thoughts on this or you just gonna condescend to my post?

right on

yes, i feel the same way.
even with tool's old music. when i put in undertow, its always after i havent heard it for a while (at least compared to aenima, lateralus, and 10,000 days)
when i do, i feel it more than ever, especially songs like undertow and flood.
like when i listen to it while doing something else or hanging out with friends, i always have to stop what im doing, without thinking about it, and get into the music 100%.

but i disagree with you when you said "most of the music in todays world (even the good stuff) is only 2-Dimensional."
a lot of music makes me feel the same way.
One band that i definatly feel enveloped by when i listen to is Muse.
They have really intense music that i really cant help but sing and move along to, and really feel deep down where i cant pinpoint at those peaks.
This was just multiplied 10fold when i saw them live while Rolling.
So intense, waves... torrents of exactly what your talking about running through my body, pummeling me when the whole crowd gets into it jumping and moving me around. That was definatly one of my favorite concerts ever.

The Killers, The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Kenna, Otep, Saul Williams, Dredg...theres a lot of bands and music that pull me in.
And those are just bands that are still making music that i was thinking of.
That comes with familiarity from me with the music and great songwriting and great musicianship.
Tool just fits in with them for me. If you really think theres not a lot of music thatll do that to you, then you havent really delved into other music enough. Havent gotten as familiar with it as you are with Tool. Im usually listening to music maybe 80% of the time that Im awake, so i become very familiar with a lot of music.
But yea, I know what you mean.

My Tool music smells like cinnamon buns.

mine smells like sulfur.






....and marshmallows.

nice combination.


yeah i feel the same way especially with their more emotional songs [omg not emo!] like Wings for marie, pushit, and no quarter.

I definitely see Tool as an experience too (ever listened on shrooms?).....but I don't think that Tool should be put up on a pedestal as a super special three dimensional experience. The point of my previous post was that everyone's experience is different, and it's funny to me that you specify that Tool has a certain smell, like it's everywhere...

If Tool is the only music that gives you these feelings, that's kind of a bummer...

What I meant with the smell is that the music brings up in me emotions, paticularly past expiriences, and with those emotions and experiences come the rememberance of certain smells. As it reinsurges memories, senses are illuminated. Its not that the band are demi-gods, its that this music, if used in a positive, inspirational way, has helped change my life for the good. The lyrics inspire me specifficly to be more active, to be more positive, to repair exisiting relationships, and to be thankfull for the life I have, to be thankfull for this computer that I can use to talk to people around the world, when theres plenty of people dont even have enough money for food to stay alive. Its helped me open my eyes and appreciate. And for that they should be put on pedestal, not because their trippy on shrooms, (although Ive listend to them high and it is quite the experience).

Funny, how someone leaves a post and it's never good enough for anyone else. Sometimes I wonder if these forums are just for people to try and prove that they are more "intellectual" and "informed" than others. I've only started visiting this site recently and, sadly, i've noticed people subtly labeling others as "rookie" tool fans, or "veteran" tool fans, based on what they type here. People have asked me "how long i've been a tool fan" based on my writings. Apparantly the timeline of which i've been a "Tool Fan" calculates my maturity and ability to "understand" things better. Anyway, this was way off subject, but I think TheJameck's post is very straight forward, and you can tell he/she wasn't trying to sound "INTELLECTUAL" (I know that's a BIG word here), it was just an expressed feeling, which is awesome in my book.

Check it out some day. Get in the right mindframe and your mind will be blown. The Salival version of Pushit was absolutely mind blowing. You might just fall more in love with them after a psychedelic experience so.....beware :p

Well a lot of other music puts me in that same mindset...so should they all be put on a pedestal? Then that doesn't make any of them special. I fucking love Tool.....but I fucking love a lot of other bands too.

Totally agree with everything you just wrote :)

I can't say that listening to Tool has ever caused me to smell anything. Well, except for smelling what bullshit many other bands are. But seriously, I agree that Tool is more than just an experience for your ears. Tool creates a range of emotional experiences for me. One of the main ones is euphoria. Someone posted an article a few months ago about Tool's stage show from some trade magazine regarding the lighting and video in the live show. According to the article, one of the main goals of the live show is to reproduce the songs from an emotional standpoint. That's why, according to the artice, the band members aren't standing in the spotlight. I think Tool is extremely successful in this regard. So, along with the music, Tool is an incredible emotional experience. I also find that Tool's music can be a spiritual experience as well.

The more I listen to tool, the more attention to detail I envelope. I notice the small instrumental accents, the subtle gutair riffs, the complex drum patterns, they are just soo talented as muscians even with all the respect they get from the community and from other bands, I still think their underrated. It takes dedication to realize how amazing of work they put out. I just feel sorry for people who have passed them off as just another rock band or whatever and havent taken the time to truely explore their work.