SOW: Aenima by Tool
December 26, 2003 | 
17 Comments
The Artist: Tool
The Song: Aenima
The Album: Aenima
Released 1996
Before I go gushing about how Tool is the greatest band ever I want to make sure you understand how I feel about them. I love all kinds of music and my musical taste is wide and deep. Even so, if a gun were held to my head and I was asked who my favorite band was on pain of death it would be Tool. If I were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one CD it would be Aenima and that would be a hard decision whose only competition would be Tool’s other albums.
Tool is, simply put, the best of the best. They defy genre and the other all the other bands (some of them great) that often get lumped in with them don’t come anywhere near the genius that is Tool.
Can you tell they’re my favorite band?
These guys are the best at everything that matters. The best song-writing, if a bit dark for some people. The best shows. The best (by far) videos. The best musically. They are the best. With the sole exception of their Web site, which is horrid and has been for years.
If you’ve ever seen Tool in concert you know what I mean. If you haven’t you should — even if this kind of music isn’t your thing. There are very few artists that play with the passion and energy that Tool does and no one has the stage presence of Maynard James Keenan. No one. And I’ve seen some of the greats.
I’ve seen them quite a few times. In smaller shows, at huge festivals (perhaps the best show I’ve ever seen was when they co-headlined Coachella with Rage Against The Machine) and everything in between. Every single time they make the venue seem smaller and it’s like Maynard is staring right at you reading you soul. The guy is a freak of nature.
I’ve been listing to them all day trying to figure out what song to pick for this week. Just about every song is great and this was the hardest part. I knew I wanted to end my month of classics with Tool but I just couldn’t figure out which song to pick.
I decided to go with “Aenema”. I think because every time I head it I get shivers. When Maynard sings:
I’m prayin’ mayhem, I’m prayin’ for tidal waves, I wanna see the ground give way, I wanna watch it all go down, Mom, please, flush it all away, I wanna see it go right in and down, I wanna watch it go right in, Watch you flush it all away… Time to bring it down again, Don’t just call me pessimist, Try and read between the lines. I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t, Welcome any change, my friend, I wanna see it all come down. Suck it down. Flush it down.
He sings it with such conviction. And you know he means every word.
Just about every song from Tool is like this. They have something to say with their art. They don’t water anything down. Like I said before, they have it all, and are simply in a league (and genre) of their own.
I could go on and on. Just listen to the song and you’ll understand.
Filed under: Song of The Week
Comments
1. Mika said:
I’m with you on this. Tool rules!
My favorite album is Undertow. :)
Posted on December 29, 2003 02:12 AM | #
2. not sure said:
Why are these pity-me lyrics any less childish than when the legions of other similar bands sing them? These are emotions that most adults have grown out of. This whole genre of sensitive sociopath rock has become so goddamn boring, when will it be over?
Better you should be a fan of the music, which is actually pretty damn cool at times.
Posted on December 29, 2003 07:14 AM | #
3. Justin said:
Tool’s lyrics hold more meaning than one might think especially on Aenima. Some of my friends and I found some interesting information looking for the meaning behind the song “46 & 2.”
There is a lot more at InnuendoCornecopria.com.
Posted on December 29, 2003 08:02 AM | #
4. Keith said:
Not sure – it’s not actually that little bit of lyric that I feel strongly about it’s the way it’s sung.
As Justin points out, there is quite a lot behind much of what Tool says, if you take the time to “read between the lines” – in some cases he means that literally.
Posted on December 29, 2003 09:50 AM | #
5. not sure said:
Ok I spoke too soon. The lyrics aren’t nearly as bad as they seemed out of context. I don’t quite get the “toilet training as metaphor for purging the idiots of the world” but it’s overall kind of good stuff.
Posted on December 29, 2003 11:57 AM | #
6. kilgore trout said:
This review by this Mika character didnt quite hit the spot. I give it a B for effort but a hardline F for content. Gramamr and spelling aren’t lost on everyone you know.
As far as Maynards profundity, I believe he definately has an ingenius raw, unrefined understanding of the annihilistic nature of the World as we, the communication and information junkies of the melennium see it. We now see the sheer volatility of the current global system, with concerted efforts by nation states waging war at the drop of a hat, with a collosal chance of armageddon.
Anyway, the point is he knows whats up, he sees the absurdity of existence in such a futile world and that it is not pessimistic, annihilistic, its realistic.
Posted on January 28, 2004 06:05 PM | #
7. BugTomek said:
Tool is definately NOT the best concert band in the world - more over, they are not even close to that title. I saw them and was bit dissapointed as I heard great things about their gigs. Unfortunately reality was not so good - they played every song almost note to note the same as in album versions - there wasn’t any crowd interaction, nor any kind of improvisation. There would be no difference if they just played it all from a tape. Their setlists are almost the same every night.
Don’t get me wrong - I like their music, especially the last two albums, but their concerts aren’t so appealing as they could (and should) be.
Go see Pearl Jam!
Posted on February 14, 2004 11:19 AM | #
8. 5 out 3 in said:
I think it might be possible that the last poster accidentally walked into the wrong concert. I saw Tool when they toured for Aenima, and later for Lateralus. Both times it was an amazing show, and completely broke free from any and all of the many concerts I’d seen before (including Pearl Jam.) When I say they broke free I mean in every possible aspect of the show, from stage setup to crowd reparte.
They songs sound like they do on the album because they’re true pros. They’ve got the songs cold, and they speak for themselves. They play the songs the way they were so carefully arranged. Maybe in other bands, where the songs are less deep there’s room for alterations. Basically, they play them that way because that’s they way they’re meant to be played. That being said, in the shows I saw I witness a lot of things they’d done to the set list that made it a lot more interesting than just playing the CD. Not the least of which was a cover song.
Finally, you see very little crowd interaction? That’s not boredom. That’s awe.
Posted on March 24, 2004 12:44 AM | #
9. ApathyIncarnate said:
I don’t know how anyone can deny the fact that Tool is the greatest band to come out in decades. They’re amazing. I’ve heard all of the knocks. I hear the knocks of people like above with the “pity me” approach. It’s not about pitying yourself. It’s above discovering yourself and being both comfortable and accepting of your thoughts and feelings. It’s about understanding the things inside of you that you don’t like when everyone else is to inferior to admit that there are things about themselves they don’t like. I listen to Maynard and I hear someone who from the bottom of his soul means every word he says and could careless what anyone thinks about him. Not even his fans. I respect that. They are musical geniuses. I have a constant argument with people about this at work who are in love with Dream Theatre because of their artistic value. Go listen to Home and The Great Debate by Dream Theatre and you’ll hear Fortysix & 2, Aenema and Third Eye in both songs. It’s ridiculous. Tool is the best it gets.
Posted on April 15, 2004 11:46 PM | #
10. billy-o- said:
tool is the greatest band ever. I have seen them in concert and i agree that they had the best show i have ever seen. and as for no crowd interaction… where were you? i felt 100% at home and at peace when i was getting my face smnashed into the ground in the pit. Maynard was amazing, and it really did sound like they were playing the cd. it was that good. if you haven’t seen them live do it before its too late. i also saw APC, it wasn’t as good as tool but a good runner up. in short TOOL is my shit and anyone who wants to say different… well. who am i to judge or strike you down? but its your loss.
Posted on April 22, 2004 07:13 PM | #
11. John said:
My favourite song is The Patient. It tells you that you need to be patient and wait for your time. Be patient and to wait for whatever comes for you.
“A groan of tedium escapes me,
Startling the fearful.
Is this a test? It has to be,
Otherwise I can’t go on.
Draining patience, drain vitality.
This paranoid, paralyzed vampire act’s a little old.
But I’m still right here
Giving blood, keeping faith
And I’m still right here.
Wait it out,
Gonna wait it out,
Be patient (wait it out).”
They are more blunt in their lyrics than some of their other songs. They are harshly telling you to be patient with your life. This song has given me guidance in my life and how I control myself.
Posted on June 13, 2004 08:01 PM | #
12. John said:
Oh, and I think Tool hates all their fans. Refer to “Hooker with a Penis” by them off Aenima I think.
Posted on June 13, 2004 08:05 PM | #
13. Josh said:
I’m 16 and have been a massive metallica fan for ages in the last year or two i have become the biggest tool fan i would literally die for them i love their lyrics and the way maynard sings them. To me maynard is a prophet from god. And being a mass music fan i appreciate the tricky music talents, these 6/4 timings and danny carey’s drumming is out of this world. Unfortunetly i have never seen tool but the second they post an australian tour i am there.. i know they will be awesome because tool aren’t just a band they are God’s chosen men
Posted on July 11, 2004 03:24 AM | #
14. Kent said:
Having worked in a maximum security prison for 13 years, these songs are more on target than one might think. Before lumping them in with other fluff that may be popular at the moment, listen to them carefully and pay attention to what is going on in the world we live in. There is no shortage of evil out there, Maynard seems to be more in touch with it than I would want to be!
Posted on July 11, 2004 11:48 AM | #
15. Hale said:
TOOL IS THE GREATEST BAND EVER!!this is my comment on this, im from Bosnia and i went in 99 to austria just to see tool.it was the greatest show i´ve ever seen.and what to tell about the lyrics,there is nothin to tell they speak for themselve.
tool is more then just music, tool is art, just awesome!!!!
Posted on July 30, 2004 02:50 AM | #
16. Strono said:
it can’t be said enough, Tool is………THE BEST THING EVER! and when i say THING i refer not only to the individual talent and creativity which spawns from each individual member but the way that when these four dudes combine their creative efforts, they form a group which in the space of two albums (aneima, lateralus) have created some of the most amazing music i have ever heard. i’ve heard the ‘greats’ - the beatles, bob dylan, the stones, nirvana, dream theatre (whom i think are acctually really shit, all they can do is play real fast which means FUCKING NOTHING!) and quite frankly, tool rain supreme.
to all those people who lump tool into a category with other bands such as metallica, black sabbath, pantera etc. your morons! with no idea of what tool really are about and your so wrong!
to all those who say tool are crap…listen to triad (Disposition, reflection, triad (of Laterealus)(all one song)) and tell me there is a more creative band on this earth and show me an example of its work and tell me why they are better.
PS: this next Tool album………..i can’t even imagine how good it will be!
Posted on April 29, 2005 05:41 PM | #
17. dylan said:
As josh said, the minute tool posts an Australian tour, I’m there, every single peice of tool’s work is fucking brilliant!
Hooker with a penis is about the superficial fans, particularly one who thinks that he’s the king shit, but also beleives the band is getting soft, losing their style just to make a few bucks, “I sold out long before you ever even heard my name”.
but really, as they get older, and the fanbase grows, they have the leeway to progress into their more advanced and deeper stuff, like the triad (lateralus, disposition and reflection) and redoing their old work, like the version of pushit on salival.
It’s just awesome how a band can consistently come up with new work, fresh and unique as they progress.
Tool IS God….
Posted on August 22, 2005 02:59 AM | #
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