If I told you that Tool's latest album,
Lateralus, was way better than everything
else currently on the market, would you
believe me? Probably not. First of all,
you don't know me. Second of all, you
probably don't listen to Tool, because most
radio stations pretty much ignore them. It's
easier to follow what the radio tells you to
listen to, isn't it? The answer, of course,
is yes. But what if you are looking for more
than the everyday stuff?

It's an undeniable fact that mainstream
music is becoming bland. The record
companies churn out single after single
of "one hit wonders", creating radio
garbage. Manufactured artists with no
potential play their song, make some money,
and then are never heard of again. ("Who
Let the Dogs Out" anyone?) It has been
happening since the beginning of Rock and
Roll, and it probably will continue on
forever. The only problem is that it seems
to be getting worse. One has to ask him or
herself, "How many of these bands are going
to be remembered thirty years from now, the
way bands like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling
Stones are remembered today?" Yes, every
era has had its share of bands that come and
go faster than Mick Jagger's voice at a
Rolling Stone's Concert, and there is no
stopping them. So why not go for something
different?

It is hard for the average music fan to
change his or her taste. Your average music
fan usually starts off listening to what his
parents lis...

Tool's 2001 album. One of the best albums today. The music incorporates higher intellectual themes and odd time signatures (5/4, 7/8, 9/8, 6/8, 6.5/8??) without sounding forced or geeky. for example: in the ninth track (and albums namesake), "Lateralus", Keenan's vocals during the verses coincide with the Fibonacci sequence of numbers by syllable. the fibonacci sequence is a set of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers:0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. a pattern that often appears in nature.

The number of syllables progress to the sixth step, then back down to the first step; up to the seventh step, and then back to the fourth step:

1 Black
1 Then
2 White are
3 All I see
5 In my infancy
8 Red and yellow then came to be
5 Reaching out to me
3 Lets me see
2 There is
1 So
1 Much
2 More that
3 Beckons me
5 To look through to these
8 Infinite possibilities
13 As below so above and beyond I imagine
8 Drawn outside the lines of reason
5 Push the envelope
3 Watch it bend

Also, the vocals begin at 1 min 37 seconds, or 1.618 percent of a minute. 1.618 is the golden ratio, were the whole (that is, the sum of the two parts) is to the l...

Pertaining to the way I think. A lateral way of thinking.

side by side