Eye on the t.v cuz tragedy thrills me.
Whatever flavor it happens to be.
(like)
Killed by the husband…
drowned by the ocean…
Shot by his own son…
she used a poison in his tea, Then she kissed him goodbye.
That’s My kinda story
It’s no fun till someone dies.
Don’t look at me like I am a monster.
Frown out your one face but with the other you
Stare like a junkie into the t.v.
Stare like a zombie
while the mother holds her child. Watches him die.
Hands to the sky, cryin’ “why, oh why?”
Cuz I need to watch things die, from a distance.
Vicariously, I live while the whole world dies.
You all need it too don’t lie.
Why can’t we just admit it?
We won’t give pause till the blood is flowing.
Neither the brave nor bold nor brightest of stories told,
We won’t give pause till the blood is flowing.
i need to watch things die, from a good safe distance.
Vicariously, i live while the whole world dies.
you all feel the same so why can’t we just admit it?
Blood like rain come down. Drum on grave and ground.
Part Vampire, Part warrior, Carnivore, and Voyeur
Stare at the transmittal. Sing to the death rattle
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
Pull your head on out your hippy haze and give a listen.
Shouldn’t have to say it all again.
The universe is hostile. so Impersonal. devour to survive.
So it is. So it’s always been.
We all feed on tragedy. It’s like Blood to a vampire.
vicariously, I live while the whole world dies.
Much better you than i.
“They played a concert while I was governor, and I was invited backstage to meet the band. I’m having this conversation with Keith, and he’s telling me that he’d been in Arkansas before. And I said, ‘Keith, I can pardon you and get that off your record. You can have a clean start in Arkansas.’”
I wonder if Huckabee witnessed to the Stones at this great opportunity? What a coup it could have been if he had converted the Rolling Stones! His election would be have been guaranteed!
If he didn’t, shouldn’t the evangelicals who support him admonish him? Didn’t Jesus command this? Then again, Jesus said a lot of things the evangelicals don’t follow and don’t like to hear = like giving up everything to follow the religion (including friends and family), selling all possessions, helping the dirty peoplepoor and sick. You know, details…details…
This past Friday (21 December 2007) I finally received the new video for the song Vicarious from Tool. I consider Tool to be one of the few transcendent musical bands in modern history. Their music is technical genius, combined with power imagery and symbolism in the lyrics. Now, it goes without saying that I’m no fan of all the meta-physical New Age-y woo woo, but I find other meaning in the images. I also really like the art work of Alex Grey, whose images feature prominently in this video. He is even listed as a co-director. I guess I maintain a cognitive dissonance, liking the art but ignoring the woo behind it. But is it cognitive dissonance if I’m aware of it? Hmm, but I digress.
First, I need to comment on how I acquired the DVD. I decided to be a good member of the Tool Army and purchase this from the online store on the members-only site. I won’t be doing this again. Why? Because I paid several dollars more for the DVD than if I went to my local Best Buy and bought it, and I had to wait an extra 4 days after the official release before I received it in the mail. Without a good reason as to why I should send my money to Tool Army, I will purchase future DVDs from a local store. I have purchased pre-sale concert tickets and they were great! But as far as this DVD purchase is concerned, I have to give the online store a thumbs down.
Anywho, on to the actual DVD. The packaging is similar to the 10,000 Days album, with a built-in stereoscope viewer. There are 5 double-sided inserts that have stills from the video in 3D, which you can insert into a handy-dandy slot in the cover for easy viewing. The images are fantastic through the viewer, with a great 3D effect. Beyond this, there are no liner notes or any other documentation.
The DVD menu is not too cryptic, with options for the video and extra material. I’ll tackle the extra material first. There is audio commentary by David Cross. I first became a fan of his from Mr. Show, and his commentary here is quite funny. There are actually two different commentaries by Cross. Basically, he is sitting at home with his dog watching the video. Nothing more to be said about this, but I think this quote from the first commentary gives a good summary of what you will find:
It’s all about windows, uh, are the eyeballs to the soul. Or something like that. The soul is the window to the eyeball, I believe.
There is a short documentary of how the video was created. It goes into the background of Adam Jones, and his move from stop-animation to CG. This Tool video is the first one that is done entirely in CG. There is also background of some of the other important persons responsible for the video, including Alex Grey. It is quite interesting to watch.
The video itself, as mentioned before, is completely done in CG. However, I don’t think this takes away from the presentation at all. It doesn’t have the earthy feel that earlier Tool videos have, but I think that is part of the message here. The song Vicarious is about the addiction to technology, to the mass media, and especially to violence. As humans, we haven’t evolved very far from the hunter-gatherer primitive that lived in fear of death all the time, but for a lot people on this planet that fear has been assuaged. We still need the thrill, though, and so we turn to television and other mass media to get it.
The video contains lots of symbols, some familiar to Tool fans, and some new. We see the “Twitching Man”, which is noted by Cross in his commentary as present in every single Tool video ever. We have tons of eyeballs. The Alex Grey painting Net of Being features prominently last third of the video in a very nicely done adaption to CG with a heavy 3D effect. The end of the video shows Transformation to Enlightenment, like in the Parabola video from the album Lateralus. Familiar themes to be sure, but a tinge of a heavier, despondent feel to most of the video: A parched, dessicated earth, the blood sucker flea, the three tentacled floating eyeball destroying everything it touches. But in the end, the being is able to see through the “reality” presented and reach Enlightenment by the union of the sperm-like extensions of the being with the knowledge from the Net of Being.
I believe the message in the song communicated effectively. I’ve only viewed the video a few times, so I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the more subtle aspects. Obviously, the main theme is that we are capable of breaking through from this terrible reality that drains us and can reach Enlightenment. Reminds me of a Bill Hicks saying that “Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye.” I tend to agree with this sentiment, though there is some good media out there to watch. But what passes for mainstream television these days, like American Idol or Survivor, is pure unadulterated crap. It appeals to the lowest common denominator and has nothing of value. It could pass for pornography.
In summary, I very much enjoyed this video, and really shows off the animation talent that Adam Jones possess, and I think this is his finest work to date. I highly recommend this video to any Tool fan, or any fan of great art.
Why continue? Because we must. Because we have the call. Because it is nobler to fight for rationality without winning than to give up in the face of continued defeats. Because whatever true progress humanity makes is through the rationality of the occasional individual and because any one individual we may win for the cause may do more for humanity than a hundred thousand who hug their superstitions to their breast. — Isaac Asimov
VICARIOUS
