It's not over the top complicated technically but it's still somehow left-field. The rhythms he picks and then sometimes what he doesn't play makes it interesting for me. And his tone is one of the GOAT, always.
@@lenni-hazels Yep, the rhythmic chugging patterns are the difficult part to me , only because they keep evolving. I agree about AJ's tone, which is why I don't get his switch to the Flying V, other than it's a helluva lot lighter.
lol we used to play Schism in my old band back in the day when I was like 19-20. If I'd been counting we never would've pulled if off. I didn't even realize how many changes there were until a few years after. Feel was definitely the way to go for me
A lot of his writing will not line up on the start of the measure but only after a certain number of measures. He loves to space out his cycles and spirals fascinating writer
I remember someone asking Adam why he’s fairly motionless during shows instead of jumping around…to which he replied something to the effect of he’s too busy counting 😂
I mean, this is in their top 8 most successful songs and is considered to be one of their hardest driving, easy to groove and headband to songs by most people and fans , (which the majority of them don’t spend the entire song counting their time signature and their changes), so I guess the way they chose to arrange this song and said time changes work for the vast majority of listeners, spending the entire duration of a song counting its signature is a strange approach but I can’t blame you. I myself am a bassist who fucking loves this song and when I learned it on the bass it was tricky because of the signatures, but to me that only made the song better, because by listening without trying to learn it it was a blast, but playing it makes you understand how complex it is.
I'm a musician, and I think this is one of Tool's most straight-forward songs, especially in terms of time signature(s). Just because you had a tough time counting on your first listen doesn't mean the time signatures were all over the place. Honestly (and respectfully), I think if you listen to it again you'll be confused about what you found so difficult the first time.
You are right about the fourteen in the chorus, but they are subdivided in 6 and 8. The Intro and Intermezzo can either be 5 bars of 4 or, more likely for the reasons you mentioned, 4 bars of 5. And the climax is in straight 3. Maybe it becomes obvious that I am a musician, too, and I did not get the counting straight away, but it totally grew on me by just listening to it and starting to feel the time signature. At some point I just knew without putting thought into it. On a side note: I think that sometimes we as musicians can benefit from not “overthinking and over analyzing” every piece of music, especially when we are not playing it ourselves in that moment, but instead to just let lose and let go. That’s when we can feel the flow behind it and we are able to enjoy none the less, even without knowing how to count it. I am strongly convinced that the complicated time signatures are not there just to show off, there is definitely a natural flow behind it once you have really taken it all in. And why should everything we listen to be so simply structured that we get it right away? And on another one: before it gets you frustrated, just have one look at the sheet music. You will have the time signatures right in front of you and will understand effortlessly while listening and appreciating the musical genius behind it at the same time.
"Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must Feed my will to feel my moment, drawing way outside the lines" Yup, it's almost like Maynard was prescient, knowing what musicians were gonna be getting themselves into while attempting to break down their songs when he wrote those lyrics.
One of their best and and most catchy songs, even with weird time signatures. I can't agree a single bit with you here. The song is great. To make something complex and catchy at the same time is a very special gift. I can accept it when someone does not like Tool at all. But this is... no.
Well it's not like he didn't try. First time reactions can be weird but i'd rather have him be real about it than saying nothing of substance whatsoever, even if I don't agree. This song has plenty of groove and energy, it's among their best. Definitely took me some time to appreciate it back in the day. I would love to see a "songs on repeat listens" series, just to see how that changes sometimes with music.
I can say with 99.99835% certainty that when they come up with the melodic and rhythmic grooves for these songs, they are not “trying to shift the time signatures because of the praise they got for doing so in previous songs.” When I listen, at the AH-HA moment-when I finally get it, everything falls into place like dominos then a waterfall then a supernova. It is a wondrous experience 😌🙏
This song is at least an 8+. I've never had a problem with the odd time signatures in this song... It has never sounded odd to me...but I'm not a musician... I don't over think and over anylize
I heard a Maynard interview where he was like: paraphrasing- There’s something cool going on and a real humor etc in our music, but most fans are busy “counting”... God bless them..” 😃👍😺👽😹
So odd... as a non-musician/non-counter I find Vicarious to be easily in the top 5 easiest Tool songs to find a groove. I currently have 25 Tool songs on my playlist. Probably started w/around 10 that would be the easiest listening (including Vicarious). The other 15 I had to hear several times for my puny brain to make sense of, and now I love them. I'm now convinced that given several listens, I would love every song in the Tool catalog if I would take the time (minus the weird interludes...).
Dont consider myself a musician but been playing/writing music ten years or so and still cant count. Yet groove to all of Tool. Rythem is inherent to all humans. Keep listening!
Dave, I think your score is a very fair assessment of the music, though I hate to see you get bogged down by the odd time signatures. Considering the title of the song, it's actually extremely ironic we share your frustration as you try to count it. Sometimes I almost feel like we need follow-up reactions for these Tool songs where you're locked in and are able to review other aspects. I'm a self-taught drummer, and -- right or wrong -- I've almost always played by feeling the beat and time changes over counting (I guess I'm weird that way 🙃, and yes, I can both read and write drum tabs). As a huge Tool fan, tho, I'm sure that's saved me a lot of frustration. Lol! Rock on! 🤘😁
I love your tool reactions! Its like watching a mathematician break down the toughest equations possible. You dont want easy equations all day do you? 😂
I found something that says this is in 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, and then they occasionally throw in 4/4, just because. 🙂 Hopefully that helps. I used to have a very hard time listening to Tool because I couldn't feel it. When I started understanding that I was not good enough to get it, but that it was going to be all over the place and that's part of the fun. I saw an interview with Danny where he said that Adam told him what the time signature for Pneuma was, but it was clear that he doesn't think of it that way. I'm pretty sure that in Danny's head, the beat patterns look like fractals or something. Dude is transcendent. I enjoy seeing your vids because you look at it in a different way and it gives me a new way to see it. That said, this is one of my absolute favorites from Tool, as opposed to all my other favorites from them.
I always thought this song was one of their easier songs to “jam” to. I couldn’t tell you what the numbers are. I go by feel. But I also play by ear. Can’t read a note of music.
I don't count, but am intrigued by it and love to hear songs analyzed, especially songs by Tool, the kings of time Signatures. They turn chaos into beautiful music.
I am a non-musician and the type of person that just "rides/feels music" and so watching someone else who does it differently is what makes the videos interesting. I do notice that people who "breakdown" music internally enjoy different music than people like myself who like to "feel" music. Biggest example is that I personally love very long (12 min+), slow-tempoed droney/repetitive Post-Metal where you'd equate that to torture and I just can't get behind the technical "impressive" faster paced music. Yet somehow Tool fulfills both needs lol. And I do believe it comes down to how people enjoy music. I like to just "lay into it" like I am body floating in the ocean or something and seeing how you listen and breakdown music is just fascinating.
I think maybe you fell victim to exactly what you’re accusing them of doing… sometimes, just listen to the damn song. I’m a drummer… I can completely just listen to, and enjoy this song without over analyzing its composition. This song rocks if you just listen to it and stop trying to count everything. I don’t think Tool are trying to screw with you all of the time, they just like to be a bit different while still producing meaningful and listenable material. Step back once in a while and just try to enjoy the music without overthinking it.
The whole reason why they do that with the timing because they want to make you feel an emotion so you can feel uncomfortable….. if you read the lyrics on your own time it goes with the music…..they want people to come out their box of what they know and surrender to the possibilities where music can take you. Love seeing your videos anyways! Keep going!
lol I've played guitar for 20 years and drums for 18 years. I don't go into songs trying to identify the time signature right away. I'm much more focused on how it feels and sounds. You mentioned Tool (should) focus less on complexity and more on the groove/feel. I'd argue you're focusing too much on the complexity, which doesn't allow you to enjoy the feel.
Honestly dave im glad you count and also make a big deal about it. As a self taught musician (my parents showed me middle C and that was it). Following time signatures without playing along has always been tricky for me. As my counting aint the best being able to count with you has helped my get better so thank you kind sir. 😝
I like MJK's counting with his consonants when Danny's polys' get out of hand. I like to think of Maynard as that guy, in middle of a circus orchestrating the show. Then Maynard also fills in for Justin and Adam with his vocal pitch. I give it the same score though.
I count the chorus as 6/4 and 8/4 repeating. Or 6+4+4 but it's easier to go with eight for me. 6+8+6+8. Tool was very much infuenced by Soundgarden in the beginning and I think they shared this similar talent to make the odd time signatures sound organic. Soundgarden's biggest hit was Black Hole Sun and it had a riff that goes in 9/4 without anyone noticing. But the neatest rhythmic trick by Tool I think was "The Pot" that's in 4/4 except for the middle riff but it sounds nothing like 4/4.
Dude, your ability to count failed you today. Vicarious and The Pot the the two easiest, most straightforward, grooviest, and most accessible songs after the Aenima album. It’s just 5/4 most of the song with an extra two beats at the end of the first and third verse and one extra beat after the second. The first two choruses are two phrases of 6/4 followed by two measures of 4/4. The final chorus is all 6/4. You just had an off day counting today. It’s pretty easy and straightforward. Better luck next time.
This is one of the top 5 Tool songs IMO, I know it's a first time reaction but if you had mixed feelings, do yourself a favor and listen again. ;-) It's up there with Lateralus fo sho (for different reasons)! I remember I wasn't a fan on first listen back in the day when the single came out before the album, but mostly because of the sound being so different to the albums before. This song encompasses all the things you think it is missing.
13:34 - My main instruments I play are Bass and drums (I play a left handed bass left handed and a right handed bass left handed strung right handed standard) - I do not count when listening to music or when playing the instruments! lol I taught myself so perhaps that is why??
I guess that intro part is difficult to hear if you only think of it rhythmically (because it does not include drums), but if you think of it as a melodic shape, it becomes a very simple 5/4. maybe it’s just that way for me, because I tend to hear melodies as shapes and vice versa.
Man I understand you, and I'm sad that you can't enjoy it completely... For me, being complete music moron, this one is one of the best Tool songs in my experience. I sincerely think that art should be perceived firstly by the feeling it deliveres, sorry. Otherwise it is just a technical skill and not art. Like when you watch Monet's painting, you don't observe elements of the painting if you are not into art. You just enjoy that feeling the painting delivers. And then, if you're art educated (I'm art teacher), you can observe Monet's technique and rationalize elements he used to build the painitng (mixing and aplying colors in a certain way, composition, lighting, etc.) But that is just an upgrade to enjoying the painting - you can enjoy more if you understand all those things, but not less... And one of the definitions of art in general is, in my opinion, that something can be considered art if it delivers new perspective into our reality - art is art only if it expands and enriches our perception of the world around us. Good art makes you think in another way, it broadens your perception. So if Tool does it 'too much' in this song, not following the rules, maybe they wanted just to shake us a little bit, who knows. To knock us from our shoes for a moment, so that we can be more vulnerable and open for a feeling? I don't know, but I like to think that way. Going for that feeling, I also believe lyrics are integral part of a song, and Tool often emphasize lyrics with music and vice versa, so we shouldn't single out any part of their artistic performance in order to accept it as artistic piece .... Sorry for my bad english!
I don't think the fact that you somehow link a song's quality to how easy it is to grasp its complexity on a first listening has anything to do with being a musician or not. Also, did you really blame the drummer for not enjoying the song more on, again, a first listening? I really don't understand people who say things like that. It's like they knew what a book or script should say better than its freaking AUTHOR, while basing such opinion on just personal preference. Very sorry to say this, but that's just arrogance and/or close mindedness. If we applied that kind of thinking to food, for instance, all we'd eat at age 50 would be mac and cheese. Everything else would have been too weird the first time we tried it.
Homestly, I don’t think Tool could give a shit less about gaining praise. They want to sell records (maybe?) but I doubt any of the guys are concerned with accolades. We, as big Tool fans are gonna love 90% of the stuff they create. From a fan of music POV, there’s nothing I don’t like about this song. Then again I’m not the kind of Tool fan who gets worked up over the “cookies & cream” lyric in 7empest (they’re out there and it’s quite a few fans…just peruse the subreddit) 😂
Great perspective. It's amazing that Dave hears a completely diff song. I thought it was rather simple by feel. Esp. considering it next to Third Eye or Rosetta. Love the counting. But as a wanna-be/non musician I can understand the pain, but it will never hit me as much.
I understand you are a slave to time signatures. But it gets to the point where you get so obsessive about it you can't focus on anything else about the song even when you lock in and get the count right. Throughout the entire song not one time did you talk about the vocals, bass, guitar. It was all obsessing over the time signature. You can't use it as an excuse because you are a musician. Musicians can listen to a song, get the count down or not get it down but still focus on other aspects of the song. This is a you thing, not all musicians are like this. Plenty of musicians can create a song and not have any idea what the time signature is and play, because its inherent and they go by feel and an internal clock. I'm not telling you how to listen to a song, I'm just simply stating that you obsessing over it led to you not talking about ANYTHING else about the song.
Oh man,Tool won this lap, that's the idea of this song to break the 4:4 and make fun of it, so it's a good sign you didn't enjoy the song, we will never understand these aliens. Nice review, keep going man!
I disagree with your assessment of the song. TOOL does not make music to please anyone but themselves. If you get beat by a chessmaster that's not the masters fault. It's time for some self-reflection and determination to get better.
22:40 - I don't agree with you here that Tool has fallen into that since I really have enjoyed this song and basically everything that they have done since. But HAKEN's new album is total miss for me.. Everything up to Virus was getting better and then BAM! I can't get into the "Fauna" at all and I have tried...
lol not liking a song cause it beat you and hurt your pride. That's so Tool! I've also been a musician for almost 40yrs and Tool has absolutly been my favorite band since the early 90's. But I'll admit Vicarious still throws me off. With this song I say F**k it and just groove.
This song took a long time to reach the upper echelon of tracks for me but over the years it has achieved it. Still not a huge fan of the mixing on this album but compositionally and performance wise this is a bona fide masterpiece. Great reaction! I'm a musician too so I get you on the counting thing but it flows better in your head over time.
It's a little ironic that a song with this complexity is easier to enjoy for someone like me, who would just get lost in the counting. I can get the 5/4, I can count instances of 5/8, 7/4 (like in the second song for today🙂), or 7/8. Those are still fun. Getting much beyond those, my brain essentially says "Nope" and I just feel my way through the song. That said, I didn't enjoy this one as much as some other Tool songs. I do like the bass tone (I think it's the bass) in the intro, especially, and I really like the buildup toward the end; in fact, I wish there had been something more intense right after that buildup.
I know the time signature without knowing the time signature ya know? Just lay out some pads, blast at full volume and jump around. Let it flow through you and you’ll just lock in
While i dont agree with your score nor your reasoning of marking a song down because you cant get it so to speak. I respect it, keep doing you bud no appologies 👍
Your right, the intro was 5/4 I know you like to count, but you look like your not having any fun counting this one The chorus adds up to 14, and sounds like 4 4 4 2 ….. then does one 6 into the breakdown into 5/4
0:54 - NO! I've watche enough of your videos so I can like them immediately without caring if you like the music I like. I know I'll get a good reaction/analysis and explanation in an entertaining package! So *clicks LIKE before watching any further* :P
I would hate to see you allow your inability to count impact your score. If anything you being a musician for 35 years and also a habitual counter not being able to count a song should give that song a HIGHER score. Meaning the musicianship is so good not even YOU can count it. Do not accuse Tool of egoism just because you feel inferior.
Overthinking overanalyzing... I think there's a TOOL lyric in there. I love your channel, but really, I think this time you may have well been your own worst enemy in reacting to this song. This piece, that you call too random, was one of their rare 'Radio Friendly' pieces. Please, keep counting away, and some of us do, and we can still enjoy a song.
So this band is known for unique time signatures, but you get frustrated when you can't count where and when the time signatures change? Hmmm. Go back and listen to the song, but do not break it down.
David, I love your channel. But you twisted yourself in knots over this one for some reason. It is a far more straightforward and hard grooving song than most of their catalogue, and much more than most of the other tool songs you have loved. Just because you are so focussed on time sigs and counting, which is totally fine of course, doesn't mean that tool are. They write songs they like, they don't sit there thinking that if they do even more crazy time signatures and transitions that people will like them more. They are just expressing themselves through their art. If you simply find the grooves in this song and let it flow it is not that complex
Feels like you gave this song that score cuz YOU were uncomfortable counting it .....its not Tools (or Danny's) job to make you feel comfortable with the time .he is subdividing the time cuz HE is comfortable & can hear it ..don't agree with you on this one ...ff your counting is making you not like a song ...thats a problem
I have mixed feelings about this song too. It was a radio track and their first release from the album. I listened to it 7 times then moved on and as I expected it was my least favorite on the album. But the album is phenomenal. Jambi comes after this. Way better in my humble opinion 😎
No....YOU don't care. I get a lot of praise from a lot of viewers who appreciate the counting. Let's get that straight. If you don't like what I do on the channel, then don't watch. Pretty simple.
Maybe the melodies of the Tool are designed for teaching in some conservatories because of their structural imperfections, but mostly I don't like them, they are not musical, like this song. Their creativity contains too much dry theory, but so little juicy music
As a guitarist, trying to learn a Tool song by counting will drive you insane. Best to find and feel the groove.
It's not over the top complicated technically but it's still somehow left-field. The rhythms he picks and then sometimes what he doesn't play makes it interesting for me.
And his tone is one of the GOAT, always.
@@lenni-hazels Yep, the rhythmic chugging patterns are the difficult part to me , only because they keep evolving. I agree about AJ's tone, which is why I don't get his switch to the Flying V, other than it's a helluva lot lighter.
lol we used to play Schism in my old band back in the day when I was like 19-20. If I'd been counting we never would've pulled if off. I didn't even realize how many changes there were until a few years after. Feel was definitely the way to go for me
A lot of his writing will not line up on the start of the measure but only after a certain number of measures. He loves to space out his cycles and spirals fascinating writer
I remember someone asking Adam why he’s fairly motionless during shows instead of jumping around…to which he replied something to the effect of he’s too busy counting 😂
I mean, this is in their top 8 most successful songs and is considered to be one of their hardest driving, easy to groove and headband to songs by most people and fans , (which the majority of them don’t spend the entire song counting their time signature and their changes), so I guess the way they chose to arrange this song and said time changes work for the vast majority of listeners, spending the entire duration of a song counting its signature is a strange approach but I can’t blame you. I myself am a bassist who fucking loves this song and when I learned it on the bass it was tricky because of the signatures, but to me that only made the song better, because by listening without trying to learn it it was a blast, but playing it makes you understand how complex it is.
I'm a musician, and I think this is one of Tool's most straight-forward songs, especially in terms of time signature(s). Just because you had a tough time counting on your first listen doesn't mean the time signatures were all over the place. Honestly (and respectfully), I think if you listen to it again you'll be confused about what you found so difficult the first time.
Vicariously counting time signatures through David Heretic. ✌️
Came for a song review, got a time signature review.
He can’t help himself 😊
You are right about the fourteen in the chorus, but they are subdivided in 6 and 8. The Intro and Intermezzo can either be 5 bars of 4 or, more likely for the reasons you mentioned, 4 bars of 5. And the climax is in straight 3. Maybe it becomes obvious that I am a musician, too, and I did not get the counting straight away, but it totally grew on me by just listening to it and starting to feel the time signature. At some point I just knew without putting thought into it. On a side note: I think that sometimes we as musicians can benefit from not “overthinking and over analyzing” every piece of music, especially when we are not playing it ourselves in that moment, but instead to just let lose and let go. That’s when we can feel the flow behind it and we are able to enjoy none the less, even without knowing how to count it. I am strongly convinced that the complicated time signatures are not there just to show off, there is definitely a natural flow behind it once you have really taken it all in. And why should everything we listen to be so simply structured that we get it right away? And on another one: before it gets you frustrated, just have one look at the sheet music. You will have the time signatures right in front of you and will understand effortlessly while listening and appreciating the musical genius behind it at the same time.
"Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment, drawing way outside the lines"
Yup, it's almost like Maynard was prescient, knowing what musicians were gonna be getting themselves into while attempting to break down their songs when he wrote those lyrics.
One of their best and and most catchy songs, even with weird time signatures. I can't agree a single bit with you here. The song is great. To make something complex and catchy at the same time is a very special gift.
I can accept it when someone does not like Tool at all. But this is... no.
Well it's not like he didn't try. First time reactions can be weird but i'd rather have him be real about it than saying nothing of substance whatsoever, even if I don't agree. This song has plenty of groove and energy, it's among their best. Definitely took me some time to appreciate it back in the day.
I would love to see a "songs on repeat listens" series, just to see how that changes sometimes with music.
I can say with 99.99835% certainty that when they come up with the melodic and rhythmic grooves for these songs, they are not “trying to shift the time signatures because of the praise they got for doing so in previous songs.”
When I listen, at the AH-HA moment-when I finally get it, everything falls into place like dominos then a waterfall then a supernova.
It is a wondrous experience 😌🙏
I can't wait to watch this....from a good safe distance 😂
Vicariously you live, while the world dies 😂
Really enjoyed watching you process this puzzle. Great video, David! Wish you felt better about the song. It's one of my favorites for sure.
Once again, I love your breakdown and honest review of songs. This happens to be my favorite Tool song and I appreciate your take on it!!
This song is at least an 8+. I've never had a problem with the odd time signatures in this song... It has never sounded odd to me...but I'm not a musician... I don't over think and over anylize
I heard a Maynard interview where he was like: paraphrasing- There’s something cool going on and a real humor etc in our music, but most fans are busy “counting”... God bless them..” 😃👍😺👽😹
Its weird to hear someone that likes music dislike Vicarious, particularly a musician.
So odd... as a non-musician/non-counter I find Vicarious to be easily in the top 5 easiest Tool songs to find a groove. I currently have 25 Tool songs on my playlist. Probably started w/around 10 that would be the easiest listening (including Vicarious). The other 15 I had to hear several times for my puny brain to make sense of, and now I love them. I'm now convinced that given several listens, I would love every song in the Tool catalog if I would take the time (minus the weird interludes...).
Dont consider myself a musician but been playing/writing music ten years or so and still cant count. Yet groove to all of Tool. Rythem is inherent to all humans. Keep listening!
Only 25? 🤘
@@jakefromstatefarm1405 like I said, puny brain 🤷
Dave, I think your score is a very fair assessment of the music, though I hate to see you get bogged down by the odd time signatures. Considering the title of the song, it's actually extremely ironic we share your frustration as you try to count it. Sometimes I almost feel like we need follow-up reactions for these Tool songs where you're locked in and are able to review other aspects. I'm a self-taught drummer, and -- right or wrong -- I've almost always played by feeling the beat and time changes over counting (I guess I'm weird that way 🙃, and yes, I can both read and write drum tabs). As a huge Tool fan, tho, I'm sure that's saved me a lot of frustration. Lol! Rock on! 🤘😁
I love your tool reactions! Its like watching a mathematician break down the toughest equations possible. You dont want easy equations all day do you? 😂
I found something that says this is in 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, and then they occasionally throw in 4/4, just because. 🙂 Hopefully that helps.
I used to have a very hard time listening to Tool because I couldn't feel it. When I started understanding that I was not good enough to get it, but that it was going to be all over the place and that's part of the fun. I saw an interview with Danny where he said that Adam told him what the time signature for Pneuma was, but it was clear that he doesn't think of it that way. I'm pretty sure that in Danny's head, the beat patterns look like fractals or something. Dude is transcendent.
I enjoy seeing your vids because you look at it in a different way and it gives me a new way to see it. That said, this is one of my absolute favorites from Tool, as opposed to all my other favorites from them.
I always thought this song was one of their easier songs to “jam” to. I couldn’t tell you what the numbers are. I go by feel. But I also play by ear. Can’t read a note of music.
I don't count, but am intrigued by it and love to hear songs analyzed, especially songs by Tool, the kings of time
Signatures. They turn chaos into beautiful music.
I am a non-musician and the type of person that just "rides/feels music" and so watching someone else who does it differently is what makes the videos interesting. I do notice that people who "breakdown" music internally enjoy different music than people like myself who like to "feel" music. Biggest example is that I personally love very long (12 min+), slow-tempoed droney/repetitive Post-Metal where you'd equate that to torture and I just can't get behind the technical "impressive" faster paced music. Yet somehow Tool fulfills both needs lol. And I do believe it comes down to how people enjoy music. I like to just "lay into it" like I am body floating in the ocean or something and seeing how you listen and breakdown music is just fascinating.
I think maybe you fell victim to exactly what you’re accusing them of doing… sometimes, just listen to the damn song. I’m a drummer… I can completely just listen to, and enjoy this song without over analyzing its composition. This song rocks if you just listen to it and stop trying to count everything. I don’t think Tool are trying to screw with you all of the time, they just like to be a bit different while still producing meaningful and listenable material. Step back once in a while and just try to enjoy the music without overthinking it.
Thats ok David, you DO YOU! I'm just happy to see you enjoy it anyway you slice it....
This is why Tool is Tool, and David does videos. Danny's "fault"? I appreciate it's his opinion but the condescension is amusing.
It's David's frustration. Him struggling to get the count down made him annoyed so it turns into "well its the drummers fault."
The whole reason why they do that with the timing because they want to make you feel an emotion so you can feel uncomfortable….. if you read the lyrics on your own time it goes with the music…..they want people to come out their box of what they know and surrender to the possibilities where music can take you. Love seeing your videos anyways! Keep going!
Talking about the count, unusual chord progressions, etc, is what makes your reactions interesting. We learn something new. :)
One of my favs. But doesn’t focusing on counting so much distract from the other sonic experiences? Yeah.
lol I've played guitar for 20 years and drums for 18 years. I don't go into songs trying to identify the time signature right away. I'm much more focused on how it feels and sounds.
You mentioned Tool (should) focus less on complexity and more on the groove/feel. I'd argue you're focusing too much on the complexity, which doesn't allow you to enjoy the feel.
How many bands can have another musician scratching their heads? Props to Tool for their ingenuity. Props to you for your analysis.
I'm sure you've already had the request drop, but you being a Bassist, THE POT from 10,000 Days, is all Bass and fantastic
I'll never get tired of watching David try to figure out the various time signatures in a Tool song. Its oddly quite entertaining.
Honestly dave im glad you count and also make a big deal about it.
As a self taught musician (my parents showed me middle C and that was it). Following time signatures without playing along has always been tricky for me.
As my counting aint the best being able to count with you has helped my get better so thank you kind sir. 😝
Tool, Soundgarden, and Rush are the trio of bands that do odd time signature transitions right!
Also. dig the N64 shirt!
Tool doesn’t write songs for praise
I like MJK's counting with his consonants when Danny's polys' get out of hand. I like to think of Maynard as that guy, in middle of a circus orchestrating the show. Then Maynard also fills in for Justin and Adam with his vocal pitch. I give it the same score though.
I count the chorus as 6/4 and 8/4 repeating. Or 6+4+4 but it's easier to go with eight for me. 6+8+6+8. Tool was very much infuenced by Soundgarden in the beginning and I think they shared this similar talent to make the odd time signatures sound organic. Soundgarden's biggest hit was Black Hole Sun and it had a riff that goes in 9/4 without anyone noticing. But the neatest rhythmic trick by Tool I think was "The Pot" that's in 4/4 except for the middle riff but it sounds nothing like 4/4.
HYPE!!!!!!!!!!
Dude, your ability to count failed you today. Vicarious and The Pot the the two easiest, most straightforward, grooviest, and most accessible songs after the Aenima album.
It’s just 5/4 most of the song with an extra two beats at the end of the first and third verse and one extra beat after the second. The first two choruses are two phrases of 6/4 followed by two measures of 4/4. The final chorus is all 6/4.
You just had an off day counting today. It’s pretty easy and straightforward. Better luck next time.
This is my favourite Tool song
That so good reaction. Pozdrawiam. Niedźwiedź. 🪬🐻🐾
This is one of the top 5 Tool songs IMO, I know it's a first time reaction but if you had mixed feelings, do yourself a favor and listen again. ;-)
It's up there with Lateralus fo sho (for different reasons)!
I remember I wasn't a fan on first listen back in the day when the single came out before the album, but mostly because of the sound being so different to the albums before.
This song encompasses all the things you think it is missing.
Great
13:34 - My main instruments I play are Bass and drums (I play a left handed bass left handed and a right handed bass left handed strung right handed standard) - I do not count when listening to music or when playing the instruments! lol I taught myself so perhaps that is why??
I guess that intro part is difficult to hear if you only think of it rhythmically (because it does not include drums), but if you think of it as a melodic shape, it becomes a very simple 5/4.
maybe it’s just that way for me, because I tend to hear melodies as shapes and vice versa.
That's Tool bro. Best band on the planet.
If you like to count then can I suggest Goliath by Karnivool. Notice when the drums come in he doesn't start with an expected down beat.
Man I understand you, and I'm sad that you can't enjoy it completely... For me, being complete music moron, this one is one of the best Tool songs in my experience. I sincerely think that art should be perceived firstly by the feeling it deliveres, sorry. Otherwise it is just a technical skill and not art. Like when you watch Monet's painting, you don't observe elements of the painting if you are not into art. You just enjoy that feeling the painting delivers. And then, if you're art educated (I'm art teacher), you can observe Monet's technique and rationalize elements he used to build the painitng (mixing and aplying colors in a certain way, composition, lighting, etc.) But that is just an upgrade to enjoying the painting - you can enjoy more if you understand all those things, but not less... And one of the definitions of art in general is, in my opinion, that something can be considered art if it delivers new perspective into our reality - art is art only if it expands and enriches our perception of the world around us. Good art makes you think in another way, it broadens your perception. So if Tool does it 'too much' in this song, not following the rules, maybe they wanted just to shake us a little bit, who knows. To knock us from our shoes for a moment, so that we can be more vulnerable and open for a feeling? I don't know, but I like to think that way. Going for that feeling, I also believe lyrics are integral part of a song, and Tool often emphasize lyrics with music and vice versa, so we shouldn't single out any part of their artistic performance in order to accept it as artistic piece .... Sorry for my bad english!
The video thumbnail says it all. David tries hard to figure out a tool's song's time signature
I don't think the fact that you somehow link a song's quality to how easy it is to grasp its complexity on a first listening has anything to do with being a musician or not. Also, did you really blame the drummer for not enjoying the song more on, again, a first listening? I really don't understand people who say things like that. It's like they knew what a book or script should say better than its freaking AUTHOR, while basing such opinion on just personal preference. Very sorry to say this, but that's just arrogance and/or close mindedness. If we applied that kind of thinking to food, for instance, all we'd eat at age 50 would be mac and cheese. Everything else would have been too weird the first time we tried it.
Homestly, I don’t think Tool could give a shit less about gaining praise. They want to sell records (maybe?) but I doubt any of the guys are concerned with accolades. We, as big Tool fans are gonna love 90% of the stuff they create. From a fan of music POV, there’s nothing I don’t like about this song.
Then again I’m not the kind of Tool fan who gets worked up over the “cookies & cream” lyric in 7empest (they’re out there and it’s quite a few fans…just peruse the subreddit) 😂
Tool makes my brain hurt. I've gotta take your word for it on some of these time signatures .. Holy Jeez haha!
Great perspective. It's amazing that Dave hears a completely diff song. I thought it was rather simple by feel. Esp. considering it next to Third Eye or Rosetta. Love the counting. But as a wanna-be/non musician I can understand the pain, but it will never hit me as much.
Love the video... More importantly... LOVE THAT SHIRT
Same, lot's a great memories playing the N64.
I understand you are a slave to time signatures. But it gets to the point where you get so obsessive about it you can't focus on anything else about the song even when you lock in and get the count right. Throughout the entire song not one time did you talk about the vocals, bass, guitar. It was all obsessing over the time signature. You can't use it as an excuse because you are a musician. Musicians can listen to a song, get the count down or not get it down but still focus on other aspects of the song. This is a you thing, not all musicians are like this. Plenty of musicians can create a song and not have any idea what the time signature is and play, because its inherent and they go by feel and an internal clock. I'm not telling you how to listen to a song, I'm just simply stating that you obsessing over it led to you not talking about ANYTHING else about the song.
Yes!!!
That intro/outro without drums is a lot like having a graph... that's not labeled. I getcha.
Oh man,Tool won this lap, that's the idea of this song to break the 4:4 and make fun of it, so it's a good sign you didn't enjoy the song, we will never understand these aliens. Nice review, keep going man!
I disagree with your assessment of the song. TOOL does not make music to please anyone but themselves.
If you get beat by a chessmaster that's not the masters fault. It's time for some self-reflection and determination to get better.
🤘🏻🌀
22:40 - I don't agree with you here that Tool has fallen into that since I really have enjoyed this song and basically everything that they have done since.
But HAKEN's new album is total miss for me.. Everything up to Virus was getting better and then BAM! I can't get into the "Fauna" at all and I have tried...
lol not liking a song cause it beat you and hurt your pride. That's so Tool!
I've also been a musician for almost 40yrs and Tool has absolutly been my favorite band since the early 90's.
But I'll admit Vicarious still throws me off. With this song I say F**k it and just groove.
This song took a long time to reach the upper echelon of tracks for me but over the years it has achieved it. Still not a huge fan of the mixing on this album but compositionally and performance wise this is a bona fide masterpiece. Great reaction! I'm a musician too so I get you on the counting thing but it flows better in your head over time.
Agreed, the production on this album and FI hurt the experience for me and keep them from ever surpassing AEnima or Lateralus.
It's a little ironic that a song with this complexity is easier to enjoy for someone like me, who would just get lost in the counting. I can get the 5/4, I can count instances of 5/8, 7/4 (like in the second song for today🙂), or 7/8. Those are still fun. Getting much beyond those, my brain essentially says "Nope" and I just feel my way through the song.
That said, I didn't enjoy this one as much as some other Tool songs. I do like the bass tone (I think it's the bass) in the intro, especially, and I really like the buildup toward the end; in fact, I wish there had been something more intense right after that buildup.
I have always said that if you combined Rush and Metallica you would have Tool.🤘🏻🔥
I know the time signature without knowing the time signature ya know? Just lay out some pads, blast at full volume and jump around. Let it flow through you and you’ll just lock in
it is 5/4 and 4/4 , i looked it up to make sure
I counted for the intro. 3,3,3 and 4
Seven...I want to name my unborn son "Seven".
🔥🔥🔥🤟🤟🤟💪
While i dont agree with your score nor your reasoning of marking a song down because you cant get it so to speak. I respect it, keep doing you bud no appologies 👍
Im gonna like your video no natter the outcome because its got Tool in it
“I don’t understand how people can listen to songs withOUT counting.”
I FELT this in my core lol. I feel the same.
Could one not argue your frustration in counting led to the sub 8 score? Sounds like it……
who’s cares what the numbers are… the only thing that matters is that the song rocks.
I care.
I can't count Tool in quarter notes. Counting 8th notes I'm getting 6+6+6+8 for the chorus.
If this was a Dillinger escape plan song, I could understand your criticism. But I don’t get it with tool in this case.
Homie said this song has no grove 🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀
Your right, the intro was 5/4
I know you like to count, but you look like your not having any fun counting this one
The chorus adds up to 14, and sounds like 4 4 4 2 ….. then does one 6 into the breakdown into 5/4
The Chorus keeps a pattern 3/4 3/4 4/4 4/4 but the subdivision choices messes with our ears hahah
I found this particular song to be a grower not a shower
I love watching your reviews but I have a question. Is there any other band that stresses you out like Tool?
@@JamesKeelin Plenty. Dream Theater, Rush, Symphony X, Liquid Tension Experiment, Spock's Beard, Dixie Dreggs, just to name a few.
0:54 - NO! I've watche enough of your videos so I can like them immediately without caring if you like the music I like. I know I'll get a good reaction/analysis and explanation in an entertaining package! So *clicks LIKE before watching any further* :P
Great reaction as always Dave. Fair comments and score. I'm no musician and not a counter, but really enjoy watching you count. Cheers! 🤘🏼
Is it at all possible that they make their music not doing a count? Remember this question is coming from a non musician
Rarely they use counts, they have been very open about it.
Very surprised you didn’t feel this . Agree to disagree. I like you counting , but music is not just counting, in my opinion
Intro is also 5:4 most of the song is 5:4 with some 6:8, 6:4 and 4:4 in the mix
guitarists have the opposite problem. they can't count worth ship and wing it.
I would hate to see you allow your inability to count impact your score. If anything you being a musician for 35 years and also a habitual counter not being able to count a song should give that song a HIGHER score. Meaning the musicianship is so good not even YOU can count it. Do not accuse Tool of egoism just because you feel inferior.
Overthinking overanalyzing... I think there's a TOOL lyric in there. I love your channel, but really, I think this time you may have well been your own worst enemy in reacting to this song. This piece, that you call too random, was one of their rare 'Radio Friendly' pieces. Please, keep counting away, and some of us do, and we can still enjoy a song.
So this band is known for unique time signatures, but you get frustrated when you can't count where and when the time signatures change? Hmmm. Go back and listen to the song, but do not break it down.
David, I love your channel. But you twisted yourself in knots over this one for some reason. It is a far more straightforward and hard grooving song than most of their catalogue, and much more than most of the other tool songs you have loved. Just because you are so focussed on time sigs and counting, which is totally fine of course, doesn't mean that tool are. They write songs they like, they don't sit there thinking that if they do even more crazy time signatures and transitions that people will like them more. They are just expressing themselves through their art. If you simply find the grooves in this song and let it flow it is not that complex
What’s the obsession with time signatures lol
Studying music since the age of 3 and having counting time signatures drilled into your head for decades will do that to you.
@@THEDavidHeretic jealous I’m just getting into it in my 20s
Spent so long trying to count you lost the point of the track.
Feels like you gave this song that score cuz YOU were uncomfortable counting it .....its not Tools (or Danny's) job to make you feel comfortable with the time .he is subdividing the time cuz HE is comfortable & can hear it ..don't agree with you on this one ...ff your counting is making you not like a song ...thats a problem
I have mixed feelings about this song too. It was a radio track and their first release from the album. I listened to it 7 times then moved on and as I expected it was my least favorite on the album. But the album is phenomenal. Jambi comes after this. Way better in my humble opinion 😎
That literally didn't count, eh? 😉
So since you cant count music the songs no good? Typical human of today smh.
7.8 is fair. For me I liked it more over time
No one cares about the numbers you are saying the whole time!Just listen to the song!
No....YOU don't care. I get a lot of praise from a lot of viewers who appreciate the counting. Let's get that straight. If you don't like what I do on the channel, then don't watch. Pretty simple.
Maybe the melodies of the Tool are designed for teaching in some conservatories because of their structural imperfections, but mostly I don't like them, they are not musical, like this song. Their creativity contains too much dry theory, but so little juicy music
The ppl who dont know music is played in different time signatures are simps
You must be 12
@@viking_nor 13 and counting