"Where’s the appeal of being a Tool fan?"

[J.]

http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=1829

This is actually pretty funny. But the real beauty in his ramblings come from the fact that he is telling the truth. Of course, that fanaticism isn't exclusive to Tool. I can think of many bands where the same would apply. Still, it's fun reading.

 

[bloodfiredeath]

The only thing that pisses me off is that I didn't write that. Excellent.

 

[Black Winter Day]

this guy is a tool

"They’re the ultimate hybrid of the two most nerdy and worthless styles of music: heavy metal and progressive rock."

and "games without frontiers" is an AWESOME song...

*waits for NAD*

 

[NAD]

<--- is a diehard Tool fan, and they are his favorite band.

I think a lot of people don't realize how tongue and cheek the band is. Yes, the music and lyrics are extraordinarily serious, but they really are just 4 goons.

Either way, that was pretty funny. I like the "it's 3% less nerdy than liking Rush" bit. And yes, many Tool fans are quite annoying, second only to Opeth fans.

 

[Black Winter Day]

it's funny how the guy in this article looks down on people with "high-and-mighty" musical attitudes, while he himself is high-and-mighty throughout about his OWN taste. just thought that was interesting.

 

[NAD]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it would have been much funnier if Maddox wrote it himself, instead of one of his many clones.

 

[J.]

There is a fine line between sounding high-and-mighty and simply stating facts that no one else will really look at. The truth hurts, I guess.

Where he really won me over is with this:

"There’s only one kind of Tool fan. The Tool fan who thinks that being a Tool fan lets them into some big secret that nobody else gets. They think that only a select few posses the secret Tool decoder ring. They’d love to believe that all the halfwits who listen to Tool actually don’t get it, but really they’re all listening to them for the same reason. The fact of the matter is, any moron can understand Tool, but the hidden appeal of Tool lies in the fact that they give the illusion of being a band for smart people. They do this, as any Tool fan knows, by throwing in jumbled references to high school psychology, obscure religious references, and miscellaneous meaningless nonsense. Bullshit or not, as long as there’s something there to figure out or interpret, it’s going to make some stoned dropout feel smart."

Opeth fans will usually feel the same way, when in reality, Opeth really aren't complex at all.

For the record, I thought Aenima (Aenema?) was fantastic. The other albums range from good to boring.

 

[Black Winter Day]

yeah... maddox > bible

which isn't saying much anyway, but...

 

[J.]

oh, and prog-rock and heavy metal ARE for nerds. And you know it!

 

[NAD]

Yep, but Maddox is greater than a lot of things that are greater than the bible.

I'll fully admit that prog, and to a lesser extent metal, are definitely nerd music. All the "cool" people I see drive huge lifted 2WD pickups with gigantic mud tires that never get them dirty, wear crooked baseball caps, and blast Jay-Z and Linkin Park through their stereo which requires a 2nd mortgage to pay for. So yeah, I'm a nerd.

There is no secret decoder ring for Tool, they aren't that complex. They definitely are that good though, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Black Winter Day]

oh, and prog-rock and heavy metal ARE for nerds. And you know it!

oh yes, fellow nerd... however we (most of us) can get laid! tr00 nerds cannot

 

[J.]

tr00 nerds cannot

Not true. Didn't you ever see Revenge of the Nerds? I wants me some OMEGA MU!!!!

 

[NAD]

oh yes, fellow nerd... however we (most of us) can get laid! tr00 nerds cannot

In that case I was pretty tr00 until I was 19.

*goes to bn.com to buy Revenge of the Nerds Millenium Edition or something*

 

[JayKeeley]

Can't really comment on this since the only people I know who listen to Tool do so because they LIKE THE MUSIC. I don't understand this need to disect music for it's 'underlying meaning' and being part of a gang or whatever.

With Opeth, I see the "Opeth Club Members Only" thing because of what I read / hear about on their forum - especially in threads discussing mundane things like the length of the drummers pubes, or how many times Akerfeld wipes his arse.

If Tool had a forum here, perhaps it would be filled with similar fans? You tell me.

Likewise, just because there might be whacko obsessive Opeth and Tool fans, it doesn't make me want to listen to their music any less (as long as I like it). All very simple really.

 

[Demonspell]

No question it would be filled to the brim with fanboys, while I find them to be monotonous I can begin to understand their appeal, though not the exceedingly high praise that follows them everywhere.

And I agree with BWD: calling either a genre for nerds is way too easy, and Peter's third album is fucking great.