#adam jones
Invincible
Long in tooth and soul
Longing for another win
Merge into the fray
Weapon out and belly in
A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Consequential
Bellow aloud
Bold and proud
Where I’ve been
But here I am
Beating chest and drum
Beating tired bones again
Age-old battle, mine
Weapon out and belly in
Tales told
Of battles won
Of things we’ve done
Caligula would grin
Beating tired bones
Tripping through, remember when
Once invincible
Now the armor’s wearing thin
Heavy shield down
A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Relevant
A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Consequential
Cry aloud
Bold and proud
Where I’ve been
Here I am
Where I am
A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Relevant
A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Consequential
A tear in my eyes, chasing Ponce de León’s phantom song
Filled with hope, I can taste mythical fountains
False hope, perhaps, but the truth never stood in my way
Before now, feel the sting, feeling time, bearing down
A tear in my eyes, chasing Ponce de León’s phantom song
Filled with hope, I can taste mythical fountains
False hope, perhaps, but the truth never got in my way
Before now, feel the sting, feeling time, bearing down
False hope, perhaps, but the truth never stood in my way
Before now, feel the sting, feeling time, bearing down
Bearing down
Pnuema
We are spirit bound to this flesh
(We) Go round one foot nailed down
(But) Bound to reach out and beyond this flesh, become Pneuma
We are will and wonder, bound to recall, remember
We are born of one breath, one word
We are all one spark, sun becoming
Child, wake up
Child, release the light
Wake up now, child
Child, wake up
Child, release the light
Wake up now, child
(Spirit, Spirit, Spirit, Spirit)
Bound to this flesh, this guise, this mask, this dream
Wake up remember
We are born of one breath, one word
We are all one spark, sun becoming
Pneuma
Reach out and beyond
Wake up remember
We are born of one breath, one word
We are all one spark, eyes full of wonder
Anyway, just watching the videos for Tool’s songs and it’s kind of fascinating how basically every one is a symbolic presentation of revelation and transformation, despite how easily dismissed the imagery is as “dark” or “disturbing.”
“Vicarious”? Life, death, self, presence in the world, connectivity, the World card in the Major Arcana. “Prison Sex”? The cycle of violence, the abused becoming the abuser, the pattern replicated in fractals. “Schism”? Relationships (not solely romantic!), connectivity, communication, ultimately union (vaguely Platonic, lbr). “Stinkfist” is like the dress rehearsal for “Schism” with the same themes: isolation, realization, flesh/reality, and re/union. “Aenema”? Literal water imagery, but with the fear of transformation through fear of water or trying to stop the water, attempted destruction of the inner self (see: Eraserhead Baby Jr.) in the face of inevitable transformation, transformation of the inner self and the beginnings of understanding.
“Sober” is maybe the only exception. First of all, the closest thing to a film of a Kafka novel we’ll ever know. But it’s more evocative of someone realizing they’re trapped in a cycle but being (as yet) unable to escape it and due to that realization, becoming more trapped and uncovering further and deeper horrors. It’s the start, but not the end.
Anyway, isn’t it neat how many of the sets for the videos are essentially domesticity but distorted?
Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine and Adam Jones of Tool during their high school days. They went to the same school, were in a band called Electric Sheep and Morello’s mother was Jones’ homeroom teacher. According to Jones, Morello was a shitty guitar player back then but started practicing and practicing in college and became what we know him as
