Random Tool Social Media thread

[NowhereFaded]

When I hear a song like Rosetta Stoner it blows my mind. I would assume that is common for anyone who listens to it. To this day even. And it’s because of everything it is. It takes the listener on this Audio driven hallucinogenic experience. A pinnacle of musical genius and creativity IMO.
But... there is no way on gods green pasture that Maynard wasn’t apart of the instrumental writing process on that particular song. MJK didn’t just come in at the end and lay his vocals. Thats insanity! The song is to perfect and mends together to flawlessly for that to be the case.
I would love to see a docudrama on the making of that song alone.
Any other creative musical minds in here care to comment on this? In that, it would be impossible for anyone to come up with the vocal musings that MJK did for Rosetta to not have been apart of the creative process from the very beginning of that song?

[thekillingjoke]

When I hear a song like Rosetta Stoner it blows my mind. I would assume that is common for anyone who listens to it. To this day even. And it’s because of everything it is. It takes the listener on this Audio driven hallucinogenic experience. A pinnacle of musical genius and creativity IMO.
But... there is no way on gods green pasture that Maynard wasn’t apart of the instrumental writing process on that particular song. MJK didn’t just come in at the end and lay his vocals. Thats insanity! The song is to perfect and mends together to flawlessly for that to be the case.
I would love to see a docudrama on the making of that song alone.
Any other creative musical minds in here care to comment on this? In that, it would be impossible for anyone to come up with the vocal musings that MJK did for Rosetta to not have been apart of the creative process from the very beginning of that song?

I think Maynard has mentioned in several interviews that the music gets written first and the vocals, especially the lyrics afterwards.
Because of the drawn out writing process for the music it would be too tedious for him to react and write lyrics to an ever changing foundation.

Just from a listeners perspective, most songs from Lateralus on feel to me like an instrumental plus Maynards contribution, whereas anything up to Aenima sounds like the music and the vocals could have been developed at the same time (don't know if that's the case, though). To me on earlier songs like Eulogy or Prison Sex the music and lyrics sound much more emotionally intertwined and with a certain feedback loop. Lateralus and 10,000 Days sounds like "here is a complex piece of music, let's find a fitting lyrical concept for it". Maynard probably develops wordless melody drafts to early versions of the songs, but I don't think he commits to writing lyrics anymore before he gets the finished, or close to finished music.

[Takeo]

I think that’s mostly accurate. Based on his book, Maynard wrote most of Opiate and Undertow. Interesting that Part Of Me and Killing In The Name were born from the same jam session with Tom Morello. Aenima seemed more collaborative and Lateralus and 10k were driven by the music first as Maynard got into other projects. I’m sure the music gets refined as Maynard adds vocal melodies and other themes.

[cahernandez]

Is this the band and TV commercial that Blair referred to in his newsletter? So funny

[snazzl3frass]

Most of the songs are already done before Jimmy comes in. I’m sure once he gets the music there may be some changes to the structure of the song somewhat, maybe some melodies get added/removed, but I like to think that their greatest works were a collaboration of all 4 members rather than one person. Sure undertow and opiate songs are great for their rawness and energy, but you just can’t beat the depth and dynamic of the later works.

[bob]

Humira. thats a pill for Crohns or whatever condition he was referring too. thanks for reminding me about that. i mostly avoid the newsletters but his recent post about Crohns and a couple weeks ago on the Tool FB page he had mentioned Ocular Migraines (Visual Migraine,same thing) so whats with him talking about conditions recently ? M singing about getting older and Blair going on about this stuff ?

im sure most people are fed up with the newsletters but i still had enough in me to notice that. hmm

[tys0n]

If Blair does read the forums someone did post saying the intermission must be because one of the members of Tool has a serious condition, maybe he just spilled the beans.

The fact that the album was delayed 13yrs because of IBS I guess would give everyone the shits?

[snazzl3frass]

I think Justin had a health scare a few years ago, maybe he’s the one with Crohns?

[bob]

Crohns isnt life threatening. although not pleasant to deal with apparently. i get Visual Migraines sometimes and have for about 20 years at this point. they suck! stress related is why i get them.its just a weird thing, my eyes are healthy. so whatever Blair is talking about i dont know but theres a theme with this health stuff mixed in with the usual b.s :/

[bob]

If Blair does read the forums someone did post saying the intermission must be because one of the members of Tool has a serious condition, maybe he just spilled the beans.

The fact that the album was delayed 13yrs because of IBS I guess would give everyone the shits?

really? who said that about the intermisson..nooo! ur fn around again tyson! this is a serious thread! stop! actually i wasnt even bringing that up thinking people were sick or something. just saying hes using that as some way to say something. who knows. maybe he could come on the forum and speak up for once instead of lurking or whatever people are thinking

[snazzl3frass]

He’s serious even when he’s kidding around.

[Danny]

https://www.pollstar.com/article/metall ... hot-138096

Edit: It’s an article about tickets sales.

[cahernandez]

the packaging is crucial in my opinion. in this digital world its so easy to burn a cd from a friend, download a ripped version, send a file shared version of the album, etc etc.

special packaging does not insure, but makes it way more likely for you, me, average joe to go out and buy a physical copy and for the band to get their due (earned) money for their art and to keep that average joe from stealing from them. yes, stealing.

the band is going above and beyond with their packaging, while satisfying their fans and receiving more money for themselves.

it is a win, win for everyone involved.

Win win for who exactly? The minority of you people that still like plastic things that take up space? Nobody (in general terms the vast fucking majority) is going to steal the fucking album Tool fans have been waiting for 13 years everyone is going to buy the fucking album digitally your opinion holds absolutely no weight at all. And many of those people who will buy digitally will also buy a physical copy so they can see what goofy rocket ship quantum physics type shit Adam has wasted so much time on. I personally couldn't give a flying fuck about plastic or packaging but I will buy a copy for my father since I got him into Tool many years ago and he still likes goofy plastic discs. Fuck I will probably even buy a physical copy just because I am enjoying these new tunes so much and since Tool were not complete fucking cunts and left the youtube vids alone I will toss them a few extra bucks.

But please do not pull the steal album bullshit again. It is a digital world and it is fucking Tool and it has been fucking ages since 10,000 Days nobody is going to steal the fucking album. Christ the fucking thing will be on Apple Music I imagine and Spotify which people have subscriptions for.

Moreover while you are on the talking out of your ass train when we analyze COST, let us take a moment and think about what this packaging is likely costing Tool and the label and what the ceiling is in terms of what they can get away with charging for an actual CD. Got news for you I imagine they won't be making a huge margin on that fancy packaging.

If you like packaging with batteries and rocket ships good on you but please don't justify stupidity with stupidity.

I remembered this conversation from a few weeks back when I read this article this morning, which is fairly recent (Oct. 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/ ... rate-music

I guess brewdog123 had a point! Technically 38% of the population download music illegally is the minority but it still is a vast number to consider. I guess M0G's argument "nobody is going to steal the fucking album" does not hold. With this being said: Tool's fanbase/target market is not the average music consumer, and is probably mostly composed by people in the 30-50 year old range (I'd love to see the demographics of Tool's fanbase, this is something you could see if you were the Tool's FB account manager), people who are "old school" and are likely more inclined to buy physical formats of music.

I used to always buy CDs (and for reference, I'm 34), but about a couple of years ago I started getting into vinyl, while I still buy CDs and every now and then, and when there's some music that I'd like to get but that I know I won't be super in love with, I buy it digitally. For instance, this year I got Baroness' upcoming record in vinyl because the artwork is just so fucking good, this week I bought Sleep - The Sciences on CD because I know it's a digipack -and I'd like to blast the CD in my car (I still have an old car without means to play digital music -on a side related note, blasting Sleep - Dopesmoker SUPER LOUD while in traffic is one of the best feelings in this world), and Cypress Hill's Elephants on Acid on mp3 because I know Cypress Hill does probably not put a lot of effort into CD/vinyl packaging (and the music of Elephants on Acid is good, not great, and the artwork is not good for me). So yeah, for some (older) people, presentation matters. I wonder how many people are in the 20-30 year old segment of Tool's fanbase, I guess under 20%? Maybe even less than that? Those people, yeah, sure, the majority of that market's segment will (probably) either buy the new album digitally, or download it illegally.

On another note regarding the Guardian article: it is depressing that the average revenue per customer using Spotify is $20 USD a year, that's nothing! I'm sure running a band is not cheap! $20 bucks is what I'll spend on the Tool album alone (I will probably buy it on CD and maybe bite the bullet, AND also get the vinyl, depending on the artwork), and that's just one album that I will buy of many in 2019 (no wonder why these days there are no more new ICONIC rock bands coming out, like new behemoth bands, ala Rolling Stones, U2, etc). Yeah, Tool could have done something ala Radiohead - In Rainbows, buy the album now digitally and in two months you'll get the vinyl, BUT I can also wait another 3 months and listen to other things while I wait (NEW RAMMSTEIN) so for me it's not a big deal. For me it's nice to listen to an album for the first time while holding the physical product, BUT I will probably listen to the album for the first time on my phone while on a 10k run (meaning, yes, I like buying CDs but I don't always listen to them, if I'm at home I sometimes listen to one album in my stereo with a CD, sometimes I just play the ripped track on my computer, it depends on who knows what, maybe my mood?). And also...I guess why in 2019 not a lot of mainstream bands (including Radiohead) are doing what Radiohead did with In Rainbows, it was an interesting concept! For smaller bands, charging for the digital album before releasing the physical formats could allow you to fund the pressing of CDs and vinyl (but there's something I must be ignoring because otherwise more bands would be doing it -someone smarter than me please chime in on this).

(Gotta agree with M0G here: while I do love CDs and vinyl -and most of my collection of music is physical-, they are a pain in the ass when you have to move)

In conclusion: it makes sense that Tool is putting an effort into putting top priority to the physical product, they know what their target market is (although their 'marketing department-hype machine' is not the best, I'd love for Tool to have a PR campaign ala Rammstein, they sure did create a lot of hype in anticipation of this record, their social media management is top notch (I have a knack for these type of things because I have my own craft brewery, and besides of being responsible for the making of the beer I'm in charge of the brewery's FB and IG accounts -we are a small operation so I have a lot of roles-). Tool's social media management leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, they have a captive market, and their fans will respond to almost anything they post -specially with the 13 years gap (and for instance, they posted that Tool - MMXIX cover photo on FB with that TERRIBLE font -I'm sure I could have done better and I'm no graphic designer- and the post still garnered 51K likes, 4.5K comments and 4.5K shares, nothing to laugh at)...still, it's no excuse for their poor social media management. Rammstein is also a 'same generation, old school' band, they also had a long gap in between albums (10 years) but what they are doing with all those videos, posts and updates kept me super excited (did you guys see that Rammstein did like a touring listening party of the new album with a massive truck going around in some select cities of Europe? I'd love for Tool to do something like this but I know it just won't happen).

Going back to my "in conclusion", yes, with other (newer) bands (that cater to a younger sector of the population) it wouldn't make sense to spend 4 months on packaging after your record is done (but who knows if the 4 months gap between album announcement and release will be solely devoted to album art conception, and then printing of CD and vinyl, I've read here and in other forums that vinyl printing takes quite a while with the shortage of vinyl pressing facilities). And yes M0G, the profit margin on the CD and vinyl will probably be really small, but you know that bands these days (and specially Tool) rely on live shows for profit. Last time I went to see Tool live was in 2014 (and saw them -post 10,000 Days- in 2006, 2007, 2009x2, 2010, 2014) and after that last one time I promised to myself no to see them again until a new album had been released, to be honest it got kinda boring to see variations on the same setlist post 10,000 Days. I know they had to make a living so hence the constant touring post 2006 until now, but yes those setlists were getting a bit boring. With this being said, I really appreciate that they are not releasing music constantly to the point that they become a parody of themselves, or that the music isn't just that great (case in point, The Melvins, I LOVE THEM but truly that last great album they released was Senile Animal, and that was 13 years ago, they've released albums since then every other year but they are not that great). I like Tool's approach, quality over quantity, if you don't have something good to say don't release it, and by the sounds of Descending and Invincible this thing will probably be worth the wait (and if I were a betting man, I think this will pass 10,000 Days, and maybe even take the 2nd Best Album spot, below Lateralus and above AEnema).

Anyways, SUPER excited about August 30th, based on Invincible and Descending, part of me wants to see more new tracks being played tonight in Berlin, part of me wants to wait to hear the rest of the tracks in 3 months! But I'm weak! If they play more new songs this tour I'll probably cave in and listen to them

[Kittaan]

Nice rant! Can’t wait to see Mog unload again. Hellboy, you may need some additional storage soon.

[snazzl3frass]

Holy fuck that was a long post.

[ms2r]

Would be a blast if they played a third new song in Europe but hearing invincible and Descending only would be already excellent.

[gamebounty]

I predict that there will be no new music debuted tonight. It's Tool. Always keep expectations low except when it comes to the quality of their art.

[fortysixand2]

I can't see them debuting another new tune tonight, either. Probably similar setlist as the US tour. They should be on stage right now. It's a little after 9:30 PM in Berlin.

[lukas]

as of right now, they're playing the same setlist. (which is what I had expected) https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/tool/201 ... 1b91d.html

[Danny]

I checked on SetlistFM an hour ago and it was showing 7 songs on the setlist, checked now and it’s still 7 songs, is it possible that they went all the way to Europe just to play 7 songs a show?

[ms2r]

That would be.... Derp

I think update will follow in an hour or so.

[ziggy23]

[ziggy23]

End of Berlin show

[Takeo]

Same setlist w/ Intolerance

[ms2r]

Cool poster.